{"id":871,"date":"2011-08-31T17:17:53","date_gmt":"2011-08-31T17:17:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/rechtsanwaltsblog\/?p=871"},"modified":"2025-10-28T08:15:24","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T08:15:24","slug":"mietrecht-mieter-tragt-die-darlegungs-und-beweislast-fur-einen-schadensersatzanspruch-hinsichtlich-der-betriebskostenabrechnung","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/tenancy-law-tenant-bears-the-burden-of-presentation-and-proof-for-a-claim-for-damages-with-regard-to-the-statement-of-operating-costs\/","title":{"rendered":"Tenancy law: Tenant bears the burden of presentation and proof for a claim for damages with regard to the statement of operating costs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Federal Court of Justice, 06.07.2011, Ref.: VIII ZR 340\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n

The modalities for the preparation and content of the statement of operating costs are set out in Section 556 BGB.<\/p>\n

In accordance with Section 556 (3) BGB, the principle of economic efficiency must be observed when settling operating costs.<\/p>\n

The principle of economic efficiency refers to the landlord's secondary contractual obligation to take into account an appropriate cost-benefit ratio when taking measures and decisions that affect the amount of operating costs to be borne by the tenant.<\/p>\n

In order to check the statement of operating costs and compliance with the principle of economic efficiency, the tenant is entitled to inspect the receipts on the landlord's premises.<\/p>\n

A breach of the principle of economic efficiency can lead to a claim for damages, which is aimed at exempting the tenant from unnecessary costs.<\/p>\n

However, the question of who bears the burden of presentation and proof for the requirements for a possible claim for damages has not yet been clarified by the highest court.<\/p>\n

Facts<\/strong>The defendants were tenants of one of the plaintiff's flats in an apartment block. In November 2008, the plaintiff issued the defendants with the statement of operating costs for the year 2007.<\/p>\n

This showed, among other things, a share of EUR 525.71 for refuse collection charges attributable to the defendants.<\/p>\n

The tenants objected to the amount of this share in a letter from a lawyer and, using the \"Betriebskostenspiegel f\u00fcr Deutschland\" published by the Deutscher Mieterbund e.V., calculated a share of 185.76 euros attributable to them.<\/p>\n

The defendant tenants retained the difference from the January 2009 rent and the legal fees of EUR 99.60 from the February rent.<\/p>\n

In the previous instance, the Heidelberg District Court had upheld the claim, while the Heidelberg Regional Court dismissed the tenants' appeal.<\/p>\n

Federal Court of Justice<\/strong>The BGH also followed the plaintiff's view. In this context, the BGH ruled that the tenants would bear the burden of presentation and proof for the claim requirements with regard to the allegation of a breach of the principle of economic efficiency.<\/p>\n

In this respect, the tenants had not succeeded in providing the necessary evidence of a breach of duty by the landlord.<\/p>\n

The tenant's reference to the plaintiff's higher operating costs compared to the \"Betriebskostenspiegel f\u00fcr Deutschland\" does not meet the procedural requirements for presentation, as the operating cost summaries determined on an empirical basis across regions are not meaningful in individual cases in view of the different cost structures depending on the region and municipality.<\/p>\n

Source: Federal Court of Justice<\/p>\n

Important Note: The content of this article has been prepared to the best of our knowledge and belief. However, due to the complexity and constant evolution of the subject matter, we must exclude liability and warranty.<\/b> Important Notice: The content of this article has been created to the best of our knowledge and understanding. However, due to the complexity and constant changes in the subject matter, we must exclude any liability and warranty.<\/p>\n

If you need legal advice, feel free to call us at 0221 \u2013 80187670 or email us at info@mth-partner.de.<\/p>\n

Lawyers in Cologne advise and represent you in tenancy law<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The success of a court hearing also depends to a large extent on which party has the burden of presentation and proof for a fact that is relevant to the decision and whether the party succeeds in proving it. This also applies to disputes regarding utility bills.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11961,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[979,2528,1917,1939],"class_list":["post-871","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mietrecht-rechtsanwalt","tag-grundsatz-der-wirtschaftlichkeit","tag-rechtsanwalt-koeln-eigenbedarfskuendigung","tag-wucher-gewerbliches-mietrecht","tag-zugesicherte-eigenschaften-mietrecht"],"yoast_head":"\nMietrecht: Mieter tr\u00e4gt die Darlegungs- und Beweislast f\u00fcr einen Schadensersatzanspruch hinsichtlich der Betriebskostenabrechnung<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Gem. \u00a7 556 Abs. 3 BGB ist bei der Betriebskostenabrechnung der Grundsatz der Wirtschaftlichkeit zu beachten.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, 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