Munich Local Court, 27.01.12, Ref.: 472 C 26823/11
Operating cost statements are repeatedly the subject of legal disputes between landlords and tenants. Possible errors in utility bills can be categorised into formal and material errors.
1. formal errors in the statement of operating costs
All errors resulting from the transmission and presentation of the statement are summarised under formal errors.
According to the case law of the Federal Court of Justice, a formally correct statement of operating costs within the meaning of Section 259 BGB is given if the statement fulfils the following points:
- An organised compilation of the total costs.
- The specification and explanation of the underlying distribution key.
- The calculation of the tenant's share.
- The deduction of the tenant's advance payments.
Examples of formal errors in the statement of operating costs are, for example, the lack of clarity of the statement or its late delivery (see Section 556 III BGB).
2. material errors in the statement of operating costs
Material errors in the operating cost statement are all errors in the content of the operating cost statement.
Examples of material errors are, for example, the recognition of operating cost items not agreed between tenant and landlord or the use of incorrect apportionment criteria to allocate the individual items of the statement to the tenants.
If there are formal errors, the statement of operating costs is invalid and therefore irrelevant for the tenant. The tenant is therefore not even in arrears with the additional payment.
Material errors do not initially render the statement of operating costs invalid.
In the above-mentioned decision of the Munich Local Court, the court had to decide whether the blanket denial of the correctness of the statement of operating costs prevented the statement from falling due.
Facts of the Case
The defendant tenant received his statement of operating costs for heating and hot water costs for 2009 in August 2010. This statement resulted in a claim for additional payment of 467 euros.
The defendant was of the opinion that the tenant's consumption had been far too high and refused to pay. However, he did not provide any further details.
The landlord then brought an action before the Munich Local Court.
Munich Local Court:
The competent judge upheld the claim and ordered the tenant to pay. In the court's opinion, the operating cost invoice was not objectionable.
A proper statement of operating costs includes the compilation of the total costs, the indication and explanation of the underlying allocation key, the calculation of the tenant's share as well as the deduction of the advance payments and the intellectual and mathematical comprehensibility of the statement.
The statement must correspond to the average comprehension of a tenant who is not trained in law or business administration.
The plaintiff's statement of operating costs would fulfil these requirements.
Insofar as the defendant criticises the excessive consumption, he has not further specified his submission.
It is undisputed that he did not fulfil his right to inspect the receipts. However, without access to the cost receipts, a blanket denial of individual items of an otherwise proper service charge statement is inadmissible.
The tenant should have first inspected the receipts and then explained in detail which of the invoiced amounts he disputed. However, he had not done so.
Source: District Court of Munich
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