“The amount of the bill made me suspicious”

Blick TV presenter and tenant Sylwina Spiess (33) couldn’t believe her eyes when she opened up her electricity bill this June 2021. The landlord informs him in a letter that the 3,000 francs already paid are not sufficient for 2021. Spiess has to pay CHF 2979.30 in overdue.

About 6,000 francs for a 2.5-room rental apartment in the 5th district of Zurich with about 80 square meters of living space. “The amount of the bill made me suspicious,” Spiess says. In addition, ancillary costs already paid are defined as a payment in the statement of account. However, they are not marked as such in the lease agreement.

Refund or payment?

“I assumed it was lump sum payments,” Spiess says. This is an important difference. Because if additional costs are billed in bulk, a fixed amount – always 250 per month for example – is paid. The landlord cannot demand any additional payment afterwards.

For payments made to the account, the landlord may charge additional costs – for example due to increased energy costs – and demand an additional payment from the tenant. Spiess’ rental agreement does not specify whether ancillary costs will be billed in a lump sum or upfront.

War causes prices to rise

Spiess isn’t the only tenant currently having to deal with ancillary expenses. This issue preoccupies many tenants in Switzerland. Because they have to take into account much higher additional costs next year at the latest.

Energy prices have increased in recent months due to the war between Russia and Ukraine. Therefore, several homeowners have already appealed to residents. Some suggest a voluntary increase in account payouts to avoid a cost attractor.

Access to the cost sheet

But in the case of tenant Spiess, this does not justify the massive increase in costs. Because the accounts belong to 2021. The war broke out only in February 2022.

Therefore, the tenant asked the landlord to inspect the settlement. Your landlord owns a private condominium. He then sent her the electricity bill from the owner of the property in Zurich. “I really can’t make sense of that,” Spiess says.

Operating cost accounting does not bring clarity

The electricity bill owned by Blick lists all of the landlord’s expenses – for example, insurance costs, elevator and underground parking costs, environmental work, payments to the renovation fund, and much more. “There are many things in my lease that are not listed under additional costs,” Spiess says.

Not only for you a layman, but also for professionals, it is simply impossible to understand how high the additional costs of the apartment are based on an electricity bill. Blick submitted a summary of the costs to the Swiss Tenants Association. “The electric bill does not help the tenant learn more about their additional costs,” says Fabian Gloor, 37, head of the legal advice line at the tenants’ association in German-speaking Switzerland.

Request access to original documents

It is not possible to understand what is specifically charged to him as ancillary expenses and how high his share in expenses is. “The landlord must give the tenant a summary of the ancillary costs of their apartment and allow access to the original receipts,” Gloor says.

“It’s disappointing that the tenant wants to see the side costs and then the operating costs are sent to them,” the legal counsel says.

Worth checking again

Worth a close look. Because unjustified costs can be easily discovered with a few tips and tricks. And tenants have the opportunity to take action against it.

“We recommend that tenants who are in such a situation ask again to get an idea of ​​the documents,” says legal counsel Gloor. If the landlord continues to refuse the review, Spiess may appeal the fringe cost statement with the lease arbitration authority.

He can’t get that far with Spiess. When he asks the landlord for details about the electricity bill again, the landlord backs down. It waives all additional claims.