Frequently asked questions

The operating cost statement is prepared after the end of an accounting period. The accounting period generally corresponds to the calendar year. The statement will be sent to you in the following year, then at the latest by 31.12.

No. The deadlines for the preparation of an operating costs statement are independent of the respective move-out date. If you move out during the year, the settlement period for operating costs generally ends on 31.12. of the respective year. The statement will be sent to you in the following year, then by 31.12. at the latest.

No. Consumption-independent costs are distributed over the total (residential) area of the building/business entity including empty apartments. They are only debited with the costs for their share of the total living space.
Consumption-dependent costs are settled according to consumption.

No. This is not so at all. If this cost element is listed more than once, the reason is that the costs are distributed to different apportionment areas or different apportionable activities are settled.

In the Heating Costs Ordinance, the legislator stipulates that at least 50%, but no more than 70% of the heating costs may be calculated according to the recorded consumption. 
The appropriate apportionment scale is chosen based on the technical standard of the building.

On rather small radiators used in bathrooms or kitchens, this phenomenon is unfortunately observed for constructional and heating physics reasons. We cannot influence this. As a rule, all apartments in the building are affected, so that you are not disadvantaged by this.

The different weather conditions lead to fluctuating energy requirements. This is influenced by the outside temperature and the duration of the heating period. In addition, the energy prices of the utilities depend on changing market prices.

The units of a heat cost allocator do not represent physical units. They are only used to distribute the total costs in relation to the proportional consumption of a user. Due to the varying total costs and the total heat consumption of a property, a new price per unit is calculated each year.

The basic cost share for water heating is calculated according to the calendar days of the rental period in the year. The basic cost shares for heating are calculated according to the table of degree days. This can be found on the last page of the statement. The degree day figures have been determined because the heating in the individual months is too different to be divided by calendar days. For each month, a certain per mille share of the heating requirement of an accounting period was calculated.
The consumption costs for heating and water are determined on the basis of the interim meter reading and can thus be divided between the previous and subsequent tenants.

If a tenant does not allow the meter-reading service to access the apartment, or if no usable results could be determined during the reading, e.g. due to equipment failure, the consumption must be estimated. The estimates are needed to ensure fair billing. The other occupants of the house are not allowed to share the heating and water consumption of tenants for whom no values can be determined.
The legal basis for the use of consumption estimates is the heating costs ordinance.

Electronic heat cost allocators have the property of setting the recorded annual consumption on the programmed key date in the memory marked with "M" and setting the current start value of the new settlement year to "0". This is usually done on 31.12. of a year. This means that the consumption starts counting from zero every year.
The display of the heat cost allocator shows the current annual consumption value and the stored annual consumption of the previous settlement year (M value) in alternating display. This means that you can compare the meter reading value displayed in your settlement on 12/31 of the year with the M-value displayed in the heat allocation meter.
The situation is different for water meter values. These do not have the characteristics of consumption value storage, and there is a constant count progress.

The monthly advance payment for operating costs is an average value that is calculated for the entire accounting year. Particularly when users change during the heat-intensive months, your heating costs for this period can be higher than the advance payments, which then often leads to an additional payment. In the summer months, when there is almost no consumption, savings are made to ensure that the heat-intensive months are covered.

If the measured water consumption is too high in your opinion, we recommend a small self-test first. 
You can proceed as follows:
You simply take 10 litres of cold water in the bathroom (easily with a 10 litre bucket) and check the consumption display of your water meter before and after. Please make sure that no other water consumers (e.g. washing machine, dishwasher) are in operation during the test. If a higher consumption is indicated, please contact us so that we can quickly take remedial action.

You can then order a check of the water meter by a specialist company. It should be noted that the inspection costs (approx. 150€) will be charged to you if the check of the meter shows no malfunction.

In principle, the costs are charged to the causer, if the causer is known. If this is not the case, it is a matter of costs of waste disposal, which arise for the landlord as owner. If these costs are recurring, they can be settled as operating costs.

The basic supply includes 25 TV programmes in High Definition (HDTV) and 75 in Standard Definition (SDTV).

Yes, there are no costs for the basic TV supply. The savings are between 7 and 14.99 euros per month. This varies from contract to contract.

For all tenants who are already Vodafone customers, the contracts will be reduced by the basic price of the basic service. This means, for tenants who only receive the basic service, the invoice amount is reduced by 100 percent.

For tenants who use additional services in addition to the basic TV service, a tariff adjustment is made. This means: the monthly fee is reduced by the amount for the basic supply. Your active contractual relationship with Vodafone also remains in place.

No, of course, you can still get your TV and Internet services from another provider. From 1 July 2020, you do not need to have a contract with Vodafone to use the basic service; this is automatically enabled for you.

The products offered include HD hard disk receivers, CI modules, HD Premium packages, Gigabit Internet, OnDemand services and international channels.

You can find out more directly from your Vodafone media consultant.

No, the LWB contract with Vodafone has no impact on operating costs. Billing is carried out directly with Vodafone if you have booked additional services over and above the basic service.

Yes, all services that you have received so far remain unchanged.

No technical interventions are intended. The change is purely contractual.

Due to the corona pandemic, the distribution of information by Vodafone has been delayed. In the meantime, every customer has been contacted. In addition, house notices have been posted in all houses, which will be supplied by Vodafone from 1 July 2020.

For the houses already supplied by Vodafone, there is a notice board with the new fault hotline and the contact details of the responsible Vodafone employee.

From July 1, 2020, Vodafone has set up both an exclusive service hotline and a website for LWB tenants.

Please continue to report faults to Vodafone as your contractual partner on the new hotline 0800 10 70 400. The company is also your contact for all questions concerning your contracts.

If you would like a new contract under the LWB conditions described above, please contact your media consultant (see Vodafone's house notice) or use the web address www.bewohnerplus.de/LWB, which will be online from 1 July 2020.

Please note: The LWB conditions do not apply to contracts concluded for general Vodafone customer service or stationary retail trade.

Those tenants who have already transferred their annual subscription and have not deposited their bank details with Vodafone should contact the customer service department from July onwards and provide their bank details so that the advance payment can be refunded.

Customers who have already deposited their bank details will automatically get a refund.