Communal charges in Germany when renting an apartment.

[Alan Weber]

It's time to talk about a hot topic for everyone in Germany - utilities. Let's look at this issue from the tenant's prism.

In Germany there is a term "additional maintenance costs" - Betriebskosten (actually so it may be specified in your lease agreement), or as people say - a second rent.

In fact, maintenance costs can be divided into three groups:

Housekeeping services.

This category could include cleaning of the house and staircases, care of the adjacent territory (in summer - removal of greenery, and in winter - snow), the elevator, the salary of the house manager or housekeeper, security, minor repairs, lighting common areas, tax, contributions to the cashier of the house, and much more, which the landlord is obliged to warn you at the stage of the lease agreement.

Immediate utilities - water, sewage, gas, garbage collection, etc..



Electricity, heating and hot water.


Immediately, "without leaving the cash register," I explain why I have made a separate item electricity. In Germany, electricity is not part of the usual list of utilities. You will pay for electricity separately. You will also be able to choose your own electricity provider and sign a service contract in your own name, as a tenant.


There are many electricity providers on the German market.


Therefore, in order to be competitive, they offer various bonuses, rates, and promotions. You will pay not only for the used kilowatts, but also for their delivery. The tariff rate for electricity from the chosen supplier can be fixed for a year; at the moment, the cost per kWh averages from 0.28 to 0.31 euro cents.

It's the same with utilities in Great Britain. So if you can not cope with the payment of utilities or you really need to get proof of payment, use the British Gas Bill Template