We have received the Nebenkostenabrechnung bill from Wincasa. Seems very high, but the problem is we don't really understand it. Would really appreciate if someone can take a look at the attachment and let us know if this seems normal.
Many thanks!
Hi,
i guess to be expected when you live in Max Bill Platz
If I get you right, I should just accept it since I lived in Max Bill Platz?
Looks to me like the monthly fee you pay towards the bills was way too low ......hence the huge bill at the end ....
check it with the previous years statement. Is it similar ?
Some of the communal charges look to be very high, but then it is a very large house, with an almost full time concierge? You have been paying very little on account, you could double your payments for next year. You should be paying about CHF 5,000 per year for these compulsory extras, and so far you have only paid about CHF 2,640 for the year. Your apartment has 128 sq m floor space, so the overall charges are reasonable.
We don't have any previous year statements, I'm afraid. We lived there for a year and some months.
There is no concierge in the building. Is there a charge for this in the bill?
Many thanks for the responses. Sounds like we have underpaid, which happens to a lot of people on the forum.
OK a concierge is one that sits at the front door. I meant to say gardener, cleaner, odd job man, caretaker. He seems to use lots of money and electricity.
It is usually done up from July to June so not sure why they sent it with a different time span.
Seems like a case where the rental agency may have mislead you about the true cost of living there. Often if the rental rate is a little high the nebenkosten can be 'understated' to reduce the apparent overall cost. But nebenkosten is just a downpayment towards the full costs, which you are still liable for. It might be worth raising this with the mietverband people (search elsewhere on the forum) and ask if you have any recourse when the month contribution you were told to pay is so far off what was needed. I doubt it will get you very far though.
FWIW, in future it would be good to obtain such a closing statement from the previous tennants when taking over a place, just so there is no such surprise, and so you can see how many 'verwaltungskosten' (management charges) are added in by the agency.
Your monthly contribution Akonto seems way too low for 1760 CHF/year for a 4.5 room apartment. But the figure at the end (3000 CHF/year) is what one would expect for a comparable apartment.
We have a 3.5 room apartment and pay about 225 CHF / month for Nebenkosten, that adds up to roughly 3000 CHF / year.
Many agencies project the "Akonto" figures of the Nebenkosten significantly lower than the actual costs; this makes the rent appear lower by about 150-200 CHF a month than it would actually be.
3000/CHF a year seems way too high. But the timing of the poster's bill is weird too.