Utility Cost Checker

The annual utility statement is a black box for many tenants: a list of items, a back payment at the end, and nobody quite knows whether it is right. Yet errors are the rule rather than the exception. The utility cost checker sheds light by classifying every single item and telling you whether it is permissible and whether the amount is within range.

The basis is Section 2 of the German Operating Costs Ordinance, which conclusively defines which 17 types of operating cost may be passed on to tenants at all - from property tax through water, heating, elevator and waste collection to building cleaning. Anything not on this list has no business being on the statement. The checker knows all 17 types with their legal basis.

For each item the tool compares your cost per square metre with the average and high values of the operating-cost benchmark. A traffic light shows you at once where you are in the green, where it turns yellow and where an item is conspicuously expensive. So you see at a glance which lines to look at more closely and how much savings potential there is overall.

Especially valuable is the detection of illegal charges. Administration costs, repairs and maintenance, bank fees, account keeping or legal-protection insurance do not belong in a utility statement, yet they regularly show up. The checker names these typical dodgy items with their legal basis so you can object to them specifically.

The tool also checks two formal points. The distribution key must be correct - costs are allocated by floor area, number of occupants, consumption or number of units depending on their type, and for heating the Heating Costs Ordinance requires a consumption-based share. And the deadline: the landlord must deliver the statement within twelve months of the end of the accounting period (Section 556(3)). If they are late, they usually cannot demand a back payment any more.

If the checker finds anomalies, it generates a ready objection letter with your details and the specific complaints. For context: the tool does not replace legal advice, and the comparison figures are national averages, not values for your exact location. But it gives you a solid basis to question the statement with confidence. Everything runs locally, your statement data never leaves your device.