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Repairs on a German service-charge statement: why you do not pay
Instandhaltung and Instandsetzung are excluded by law. Where servicing ends, how to split full-service contracts, and what to ask for.
A broken door lock, a leaking pipe, a fresh coat of paint in the stairwell: in a German residential tenancy the landlord bears these costs. They nevertheless appear regularly on service-charge statements — rarely openly, usually inside collective items with harmless names. This guide explains where the line between recoverable servicing and non-recoverable repair runs, and how to split a mixed invoice. It covers residential tenancies in Germany and is not individual legal advice.
The legal basis
Section 1(2) no. 2 BetrKV expressly removes the costs of maintenance and repair (Instandhaltung und Instandsetzung) from the definition of operating costs. Those are the costs that must be incurred to preserve the intended use by properly remedying defects caused by wear, ageing and weather.
This mirrors the basic rule of German tenancy law. Under section 535(1) BGB the landlord must hand over the property in a condition suitable for the contractual use and keep it in that condition during the tenancy. Upkeep is the landlord's job and is covered by the rent.
Servicing is allowed, repair is not
The ordinance expressly permits servicing in several places: care of the heating system, checking operational readiness, servicing the lift, ventilation and smoke detectors. Servicing is the planned, preventive measure that preserves the target condition. Repair is restoring the condition after a failure or damage.
The boundary is not always sharp. Replacing a seal during the annual service remains servicing. Replacing a circulation pump that has failed is a repair. What matters is what actually happened — and that appears on the tradesperson's invoice, not on the statement.
Splitting full-service contracts
For lifts, heating systems and ventilation, full-service contracts (Vollwartungsverträge) are common. At a flat price they cover servicing, inspection, an emergency service and the replacement of wear parts up to a certain scale. The repair element is not recoverable and must be deducted.
Many managers apply a flat deduction, often between thirty and fifty percent for lifts. Insist that the deduction is visible in the statement. A full-service item with no deduction at all is a concrete ground for objection.
Minor-repair clauses are different
Many German leases contain a minor-repairs clause (Kleinreparaturklausel): repairs to items exposed to the tenant's frequent access are borne by the tenant up to a certain amount. Such a clause concerns your relationship with the landlord directly and is not settled through the service-charge statement.
If a minor repair nevertheless appears in the statement and is spread across all households, that is wrong — regardless of whether the clause is valid. Allocating an individual repair does not turn it into an operating cost.
Typical disguises
Watch for: "Kleinreparaturen", "Instandhaltung", "Reparaturkosten", "Handwerkerleistungen", "Hausservice", "technische Betreuung", "Sonstige Leistungen", "Rücklage", "Erneuerung", "Modernisierung", "Sanierung", "Malerarbeiten", "Schlüsseldienst", "Rohrbruch", "Wasserschaden".
Statements derived from a condominium (WEG) statement often also contain a contribution to the maintenance reserve (Instandhaltungsrücklage). It is not an operating cost and may not be passed on to tenants, even though it is a normal item in the owners' accounts.
Emergency call-outs
A call-out at night or at the weekend is expensive and often lands in a collective item. The legal position is the same as during the day: if damage is remedied, it is a repair. What may be recoverable is a standby fee that arises continuously under a servicing contract which does not include repair work.
Ask about the number of call-outs and their cause. Repeated call-outs to the same installation are themselves an indication that a repair is due — and therefore an argument against passing on the follow-up costs.
When the landlord does the work personally
Some owners do work themselves and charge an hourly rate. For operating costs that is possible in principle: the ordinance allows the value of own services to be set where costs would otherwise have arisen. For maintenance it is precisely not possible, because there is no recoverable cost type in the first place.
The value of the owner's own management work is expressly excluded by section 1(2) no. 1 BetrKV. If hourly rates appear without a third-party invoice, the first question is what kind of work was done.
Modernisation is never an operating cost
If the building is insulated, windows are replaced or the heating is renewed, those are modernisation or repair measures. They may, under strict conditions, lead to a rent increase, but they never belong in the service-charge statement. Planning, architect and permit costs are excluded too.
If a new line appears after building work, check its character carefully. What may be permissible is a genuinely new ongoing operating cost, such as servicing a newly installed ventilation system.
Handling mixed items
Where an item contains both admissible and inadmissible costs, the whole line does not fall away — only the inadmissible part is removed. That is why the breakdown is the decisive first step, not a blanket rejection.
Put your request concretely: "Please break down the item 'Hausservice' of €1,240.00 by service and amount, and state which part relates to maintenance and repair."
Ask for the documents
The decisive records are the tradespeople's invoices and the servicing contracts. You are entitled to inspect them under section 556(4) BGB, although the landlord may provide them electronically. The description of the work almost always shows whether it was servicing or repair.
Deadline and payment
Objections must generally be notified within twelve months of receipt, section 556(3) BGB. An objection to a single item does not automatically entitle you to withhold the whole back payment. Treat the two questions separately and document both in writing.
Read on and check your own bill
For the related mistakes, see property management fees and caretaker costs. For obtaining the invoices, see inspecting the invoices.
Suspicious collective items are recognised automatically by the free check, which names the provision concerned — so you know what to ask for.