Service charges for tenants with new contracts remain at a high level
Service charges for tenants with new contracts remain at a high level following the rise in energy prices in 2022. The discounts for cold service charges have continued to rise in the current year, while heating costs have only fallen slightly compared to the previous year, according to an analysis published by the German Economic Institute (IW) on Wednesday. It examined the advertisements for new rental contracts. The discounts for warm utility costs were almost half higher than before the war in Ukraine, it said.
According to the IW, in September 2023, an average of EUR 1.67 per square meter of living space was set for warm utility costs - heating and hot water - in new rental contracts. This was four percent less than a year earlier (EUR 1.74). In addition, there are cold ancillary costs, which cover the owner's costs such as cleaning, as well as municipal costs such as property tax and waste and sewage charges. They amounted to EUR 1.78 per square meter, three percent more than in 2022 (EUR 1.72). In total, the discounts fell slightly to EUR 3.45 per square meter.
Up until the winter of 2021/2022, before the start of the war in Ukraine, down payments for warm utility costs had remained stable at an average of EUR 1.17 per square meter of living space, according to the study. "Current figures from the third quarter of 2023 show that warm utility costs are still around 43 percent higher than before the winter of 2021/2022."
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Despite the slight decrease in heating costs, the overall energy price increase has led to higher service charges for tenants with new contracts. This increase in costs includes incidental expenses like cleaning and municipal charges, which have seen a 3% increase from 2022 to 2023. To mitigate these costs, some landlords have increased the discounts for cold service charges, but these discounts have not been enough to offset the rise in energy prices for tenants.
Source: www.ntv.de
