Create service charge statement: This is how it works

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As a landlord/landlady, you have to prepare a service charge statement for your tenants once a year. In order for this to comply with the legal requirements, a number of factors must be taken into account. If your WEG is managed by Ralph and you have concluded the so-called special property management (SEV) with us, we will prepare the service charge statement for you on time and in compliance with the law as part of the service package.

Create service charge statement: What are service charges?

The annual service charge statement includes all ongoing costs that are incurred in addition to the rent for an apartment or house and may be passed on to the tenants. As a rule, one-off costs do not count as ancillary costs.

How to settle service charges yourself: Which service charges belong in the service charge statement?

You do not want a special property management (SEV), but want to create your service charge statement independently? No problem. The service charge settlement is prepared on the basis of the Operating Costs Ordinance. This stipulates that the following expenses belong in the service charge settlement:

- Building insurances

- Property tax

- Garden care

- Cleaning costs for gutters and light wells

- Costs for street cleaning and waste collection

- Interior and exterior lighting

- Sewage charge

- Costs for heating and hot water

- Elevator costs

- Staircase cleaning

- Janitor costs

- Costs for communal antenna systems or cable television

- Costs for common washrooms

- Maintenance costs for smoke extraction systems, smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, lightning rods

Important: Include service charge agreement in the rental agreement

The payment of ancillary costs must be expressly agreed in the rental contract. However, the costs involved do not have to be listed in detail. If the rental agreement does not contain an explicit agreement on incidental costs, the rent is inclusive and covers all incidental costs.

These costs do not belong in the service charge statement

When you prepare a utility bill, there are costs that are not apportionable. These include, among others:

- Maintenance and repair costs

- Real estate transfer tax

- Income tax on rental income

- Legal expenses insurance

- Household insurance

- Costs of property management or other administrative costs

When do you have to prepare the service charge statement at the latest?

The service charge statement must be prepared and submitted to the tenants within one year of the end of the billing period.

Example: For the year 2022, you must prepare the service charge statement and send it to your tenants by December 31, 2023 at the latest.

Compliance with the deadline is important, as tenants are released from the obligation to pay service charges if this deadline is not met. The same deadline applies to the service charge settlement after tenants have moved out.

Send the service charge statement to the employment agency

In cases where the tenant's rent is paid by the Employment Agency, the service charge statement must be sent directly to the agency. Frequently, however, the job center also settles the ancillary costs via a flat-rate rent without requiring a settlement of ancillary costs. The individual case determines which of the two possibilities comes into question.

Have service charge settlement prepared - but correctly

For your tenants, the service charge statement must be understandable and mathematically comprehensible. Unfortunately, errors often occur when preparing the service charge statement - especially if they were prepared by a property management company that still works a lot manually and has error-prone internal processes.

In contrast, a professionally prepared service charge statement from a modern property management company like Ralph is not only clear and understandable, but also provides noticeable relief for you as a landlord/landlady.

On time and in compliance with the law: Have service charge billing prepared with Ralph

Do you still take care of the preparation of the service charge statement yourself? By commissioning Ralph's condominium management, this task is taken off your hands. As a digital property management company, we know the exact requirements that you have to fulfill as a landlord/landlady and offer comprehensive services that take the pressure off you.

Have service charge billing prepared: You will avoid these mistakes

The preparation of the service charge statement is often a challenge for landlords. This happens as follows: The complexity of the statement leads to errors or missed deadlines - and a conflict between landlord and tenant is already pre-programmed.

However, if you have your utility bill prepared by a professional property management company like Ralph, you won't make the following mistakes:

- Deadline missed

- Service charge agreement not included in the lease agreement

- Non-apportionable costs settled

- Overlooking a cost item

- Mandatory information not provided

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Ralph assists you with the preparation of the service charge statement

At Ralph, we focus on modern service and streamlined processes to simplify the preparation of service charge billing. Thanks to the use of modern technologies and efficient processes, we manage to make the preparation of the service charge statement much easier. This leads to higher customer satisfaction and makes it possible to offer our services as a digital property management company in a cost-efficient manner. Ralph is thus setting new standards in the property management industry and demonstrating what contemporary and effective service charge billing can look like.

Here's how we do it: We use a digital billing program that enables the automatic capture and linking of all relevant data. This saves us time and minimizes the risk of errors. In addition, you can view and check your statements online at any time.

Discover now how your homeowners association can benefit from Ralph on our Property Management Costs information page and request your free quote here. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

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