When talking about additional costs, people often imagine a standard rate in a rental agreement. However, there are significant differences between commercial and residential additional costs.
Housing-related ancillary costs include all costs incurred by the owner in connection with the management of a property in accordance with tenancy law. It is important to note that there are apportionable costs, such as property tax, sewage, electricity, and heating costs. However, there are also costs that are not apportionable, such as administrative and maintenance costs. Maintenance costs. Furthermore, the allocation key must be specified in the operating costs statement. In a multi-family house, ancillary costs are calculated for each individual tenant based on, for example, living space in square meters, number of persons, residential units, or consumption.
In most cases, ancillary costs are distributed according to living space in residential properties. Here is an example:
Garbage collection costs: $4,560
Total area of the residential building: 2,000 m
Own living space: 80 m²
= 4560 : 2000 x 80 = $182.40
The situation is different for commercial ancillary costs. In this case, the rental agreement is concluded between two equal business partners, which means that individual agreements can be made.
Therefore, the apportionable costs are also freely negotiable. For example, the administrative costs can be passed on to the tenant by agreement, or the maintenance costs can be charged to the tenant. It is important that all clauses are discussed and individually negotiated and accepted by both parties and that they are ultimately recorded in writing in the lease agreement.
Certain criteria must be met in order for agreements to be legally binding. These include transparency, traceability, legal compliance, and timeliness. This legal basis refers to the Operating Costs Ordinance (BetrKV).
In summary, owners of commercial properties have considerably more leeway and opportunities to pass on costs to tenants when it comes to agreeing on ancillary costs. In the residential sector, on the other hand, ancillary costs are clearly defined and specified.
