Ciao a tutti,
Vorrei sapere se l’importo che mi viene addebitato per le spese di riscaldamento è normale.
Ho firmato il contratto per un appartamento in affitto a Monaco il 1 dicembre 2024 e mi sono trasferito lì solo a febbraio 2025 perché sono tornato a casa nel mio paese. Poi mi hanno fatto pagare molto per Nebenkosten, in particolare le spese di riscaldamento.
Il mio padrone di casa è stato così gentile da ricontrollare, ma l’ISTA ha affermato che i calcoli erano corretti perché riguardano i metri quadrati, ecc. (il che continuo a considerare ridicolo perché nessuno ha vissuto nell’appartamento per 2 mesi e mi venivano comunque addebitati i costi di riscaldamento che non avevo mai utilizzato).
Per questo motivo, nel 2025, non ho mai usato il riscaldamento per un anno intero. Ho sopportato e sopravvissuto all’inverno tedesco indossando giacche di pile e utilizzando spessi strati di coperte.
Poi ho ricevuto l’Abrechnung per il 2025 e le spese di riscaldamento sono salite a 1.952,72€… ancora una volta, per qualcosa che non ho mai utilizzato in un anno intero di vita nell’appartamento!
Qualcuno potrebbe aiutarmi a capire la fattura inviata da ISTA e farmi sapere se è del tutto normale?
Grazie in anticipo! Apprezzo il tuo contributo!
https://i.redd.it/ya2b5lve3deh1.jpeg
di Particular-Alfalfa76
14 commenti
There are always two components to a heating bill: the base amount, which here is calculated based on the size of your apartment compared to the entire building, and the amount you consumed. Think of it like the registration and insurance you pay for a car, which you have to pay whether you drive it or not.
If you think your heating bill is wrong, I suggest joining a Mieterverein near you. They can help you decipher it.
Something about heating being necessary for sustaining German buildings during the winter so even if you don’t heat at all in your flat, your neighbors will and you pay a share of the grand total. Often times the landlord controls heating to a degree and you have no say. It’s cost of housing in German climate.
Your heating and warm water costs are calculated by flat size (m²) rather than your actual usage. Generally §6 Heizkostenverordnung required at least 50% of the costs to be calculated by actual usage with only very few exceptions we cannot know if those apply here.
If they apply you using absolutely nothing doesn’t matter at all since you are paying “your share” of the usage of everyone in the building. (And obviously you probably used warm water to shower etc. so that part you probably didn’t reduce to “nothing”)
To me it looks like the cost for heating (excluding hot water) is divided into apartments just by apartment size (square meters). It doesn’t matter how much each apartment has actually used the heating.
Not sure whether that is legal. Do you have meters on your radiators?
1900 Euro sounds reasonable for warm water and heating.. not very low, but I know of a similar apartment from the size that is at 1750 Euro.. .
I can’t tell you, if your specific Abrechnung is correct or not. But in general: your neighbours heating habits kept you from freezing. That’s why you need to pay a share of that.
I need to use the heating maybe two days per year because my neighbours below, above and to both sides to my appartment are using their heating more.
It explains it next to the calculation. There’s a base rate that you have to pay based on the area of your flat to pay for the cost of providing heating at all.
Also leaving the heating off for a while year is a bad idea. If that leads to things like mold you’d be liable for repairs.
That being said 100% Grundkosten looks sus. It’s supposed to be between 30% and 50%. 100% Grundkosten is not allowed.
Let me explain.
in Germany, heating costs are usually distributed between appartements partly by area (“Base costs”) and partly by consumption. Usually its 50/50 but mostly its 70/30.
In your case it might be a very old house, because all heating costs are distributed by living area (Wohnfläche) “100% Grundkosten Heizung”.
In Germany it is a law that heating costs have to be calculated by consumption. There are exceptions, but they usually just apply for very old buildings ( HeizkostenV – § 7 Verteilung der Kosten der Versorgung mit Wärme).
Your best chance is taking the Abrechnung to the Mieterverein or the Verbraucherzentrale.
If it stays that way – happy heating 😀
“enduring” is not just pointless but in a way illegal since you’re required to heat your apartment to prevent mold growth
Not commenting on the bill since others explained it multiple times already
Classic Germany, what a cheat….
There is always a Grundkosten which has to be at least 30% (and can be upto 50%) of the heating and hot water costs. This is because there is always heat transfer from shared walls so if your neighbours turn their heating up, your apartment also gets some of the heat. There are shared pipes and also lost heat during transfer. This gets shared by all apartments and if you don’t have the average usage, you still have to pay for it.
> Because of this, I never used the heater for an entire year in 2025. I endured and survived the German winter by wearing fleece jackets and using thick layers of blankets.
But why?
I had the exact same problem—I was asked to pay a €3,000 Nachzahlung for two years in a 32-square-meter flat!
I went to the Verbraucherzentrale first, and they claimed the calculation itself was correct, but I didn’t give up. I then joined a Mieterverein. They told me that even if the math checks out on paper, the sheer amount is completely implausible for a flat that size.
My Mieterverein has now sent a legal letter to the landlords stating that I will withhold payment until the heating meters (Heizkostenverteiler) are replaced and we can properly compare actual consumption. They are also providing me with full legal representation going forward. Definitely look into a Mieterverein!
Edit to add: Also be aware that dragging things out is a common delay tactic used in Germany, especially if you are a foreigner. They often assume foreigners will just give up, pay, and choose not to move forward legally. As soon as they get an official legal letter, however, they change their attitude 180 degrees.
The invoice is solely based on area, not usage. Had you used your heating the share you’d have had to pay would have stayed the same.
That is generally not allowed. The law mandates 50-70% of the cost have to be attributed based on usage.
But there are exceptions. If it’s impossible to install heat meters (for example with one-pipe systems), or if it’s prohibitively expensive.
They have to proof that though.