Transfer administrative costs?

The administrative costs of the landlord are not operating costs according to §1 Abs. 2 Nr. 1 of the Operating Costs Ordinance. The landlord must therefore not settle the operating costs with the tenant.

The landlord should avoid to include the administrative costs in the lease separately. In its judgment of 19/12/2018, the BGH (VIII ZR 254/17) ruled that a separate administration fee flat rate is ineffective if the lease does not clearly state that it is part of the net rent.

Landlords should consider all costs that are necessary to determine the net cold rent, but do not disclose this calculation to the tenant. This well-intentioned transparency, with small wording mistakes in the lease, may mean that the administrative costs are not considered part of the net rent. If the administration fee is e.g. is not considered in the calculation of the rent deposit, this is already an indication that it does not belong to the total net rent.