My landlord demands 3k as extra pay for heat- scam or is it happening to everyone?

honestly that sounds way too high for 60sqm even with current prices. i'd ask for the actual heizkostenabrechnung first before paying anything. the landlord has to show you the breakdown per unit, like how many kwh you used and what the price per kwh was. you can also check your own heat meter if you have one in the flat.

if he's just estimating without a real bill, thats a red flag. in berlin you can also call the verbraucherzentrale for free advice on this stuff, they deal with these disputes all the time. the mieterverein is good too but sometimes faster to get a quick answer from the verbraucherzentrale first

arrow_drop_up 12 arrow_drop_down

chat_bubble Reply ios_share

/

Reply

That seems steep for a 60sqm flat, even with how much gas prices jumped. You should ask to see the actual Heizkostenabrechnung and compare the Verbrauchskosten per kWh to what's in your contract. The Nebenkostenabrechnung is due by the end of the year after the billing period, so if this is for last year and you haven't seen the itemized bill yet, he can't just make up a number. Join the Berliner Mieterverein for 90 euros a year and have them check the statement, they'll spot illegal clauses or inflated costs that the landlord thinks he can sneak past you.

arrow_drop_up 5 arrow_drop_down

chat_bubble Reply ios_share

/

Reply

yeah 3k for a 60sqm flat is wild even by berlin standards. i live in a similar sized place in neukölln and my nachzahlung was like 400€ last year for gas heating, so this feels off.

first thing, check if your landlord actually sent you the heizkostenabrechnung with the verbrauchsausweis. they have to itemize everything by law, including the cost per kwh and your actual usage. if he's just giving you a random number without the paperwork, he's prob trying to squeeze you.

also, if you're in an altbau with single-pane windows and no modern heating controls, that could explain some of it, but 250€ extra per month is still insane. you can ask your hausverwaltung for the last drei abrechnungen to see if this is a trend or just a one-time jump.

mieterverein is your best bet for 90€ yearly, they'll handle the whole thing and write the landlord a letter. don't pay anything until you see the real bill, and even then you can dispute it.

arrow_drop_up 4 arrow_drop_down

chat_bubble Reply ios_share

/

Reply

Worth noting that Berlin street names have official umlaut and ß rules that trip people up, so a sign showing "Strasse" versus "Straße" is not actually a spelling error, just an older transcription. Same with "ue" versus "ü" (e.g. "Kantstrasse" vs "Kantstraße"), both are considered valid renderings and you'll see the ß version on the blue Schilder and the ss version on older plaques or in databases that predate Unicode. If the difference you're seeing is between those two forms, there's nothing to fix and both are technically correct.

arrow_drop_up 4 arrow_drop_down

chat_bubble Reply ios_share

/

Reply

if the signs u mean are the old enamel ones on the house facades those are often protected as Baudenkmal so nobody's allowed to correct them even if the spelling is outdated. the binding version is whatever is in the Berliner Strassenverzeichnis plus the entry in the Liegenschaftskataster, so if u tell me the street i can point u to the right Bezirksamt Mitte or Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf page. tbh the merged district thing is real but the facade signs are a separate story, theyre basically museum pieces at this point

arrow_drop_up 3 arrow_drop_down

chat_bubble Reply ios_share

/

Reply

honestly thats super common in Charlottenburg, the district offices were merged from older Bezirke and nobody ever fixed all the Schilder. if its a real street you can check the official strassenverzeichnis on berlin.de, that list is what the Burgeramt actually goes by. which street is it? some of the Kaiserdamm / Kantstrasse signs are notorious for this.

arrow_drop_up 1 arrow_drop_down

chat_bubble Reply ios_share

/

Reply