Tenants will soon have to take care of TV reception themselves
Tenants will soon have to switch to cable TV and find their own provider. "From July 1, 2024, the TV may otherwise be black," explained Anne Rocke, legal advisor at the Saxony-Anhalt consumer advice center. The consumer advice center and tenants' associations advise people to take care of this early on and compare providers. At the moment, agents are already ringing at apartment doors to sign contracts. The consumer advice center advises checking exactly what the contracts contain.
What is changing?
On June 30, 2024, the so-called "service charge privilege" will be abolished. According to the Tenants' Protection Association of Saxony-Anhalt, landlords will no longer be allowed to charge the costs of cable connections to the service charges. Especially in apartment buildings, cable fees are currently often included in the service charges - whether the connection is used or not. As the regulation is 40 years old and many people no longer receive television exclusively via cable, the law has been changed.
The consumer advice center and tenant protection association generally welcome the abolition of the service charge privilege. Users now have more freedom in how they receive television and no longer have to pay for connections that they may not even use. For those who already receive television via another channel, nothing will change in terms of reception.
Will television become more expensive?
According to the consumer advice center, the group tariffs for landlords were often cheaper, so that the cable connection could become slightly more expensive with an individual contract: by around two to three euros per month.
How can I watch television in the future?
Reception via a cable connection is still possible. However, reception via satellite, Internet or a DVBT antenna is also possible.
What should consumers look out for?
From July 1, 2024 at the latest, cable fees may no longer appear on utility bills. When concluding a new contract, the Saxony-Anhalt Consumer Advice Center advises consumers to check the contract carefully to ensure that they only pay for the services they actually need.
Consumers living in apartment buildings may need to find a new cable TV provider, as their landlords will no longer be able to include cable fees in the service charges from July 1, 2024. This change could potentially make cable TV slightly more expensive for individual consumers.
Source: www.dpa.com
