Statement of service charges and heating costs - Tenant's right to inspect the supporting documents
Tenants basically have the right to inspect the supporting documents for utilities and service charges. The Local Court (Amtsgericht, AG) in Hamburg, in one of its cases, had to clarify what action should be taken if there is a greater geographical distance between a tenant and a landlord and if carrying out the inspection locally would entail a considerable effort.
In the case ruled on by the AG of 11.7.2024 (case reference: 49 C 410/23), a tenant from Hamburg and her landlady who was living in Leipzig had become involved in a dispute. The main bone of contention was a statement of service charges and heating costs that accompanied a request for a subsequent payment of €1,560. Thereupon, the tenant asked to fully inspect the supporting documentation. By contrast, the landlady was of the opinion that the statement was formally correct and that she was not required to make the supporting documentation available for inspection since this did not constitute an obligation on the part of a landlady.
The AG in Hamburg rejected this and decided, in particular, that the tenant was not obliged to travel from Hamburg to Leipzig to inspect the supporting documentation. In fact, the landlady had to ensure that the inspection of the supporting documentation in Hamburg was made possible.
