Guide for landlords and property managers
Well-founded, practical know-how on the topics that decide money and legal certainty in a manager's day-to-day: operating-cost statements under the HeizkostenV, CO₂ cost splits, rent increases and the cap, deposits under § 551 BGB and a property manager's inspection duties. Every article cites the relevant statutes, deadlines and works through a concrete example.
Operating costs
3 articlesBilling heating costs under the HeizkostenV
50–70 % of heating and hot-water costs must be allocated by consumption. Base vs. consumption costs, the substitute procedure (§ 9a) and the 15 % reduction right (§ 12) explained.
8 min readOperating costsSplitting CO₂ costs: the 2026 tier model
The worse the building's efficiency, the higher the landlord's share — from 0 % to 95 %. The full tier table (kg CO₂/m²·a) plus a worked example.
7 min readOperating costsOperating costs: the 12-month billing deadline
12 months to bill, 12 months to object — miss the deadline and back-payments are lost. All deadlines with an example and exceptions.
7 min readRent & increases
2 articlesRent increase: the 20 % / 15 % cap
The cap, the one-year lock (§ 558) and effect from the 3rd month (§ 558b) — plus modernisation (§ 559), stepped (§ 557a) and index rent (§ 557b) at a glance.
9 min readRent & increasesRental deposit under § 551 BGB: 3 months' rent
At most 3 months' net rent, in 3 instalments, held insolvency-proof and with interest. Rules on amount, holding, interest and return — with an example.
7 min readOperations & law
1 articlesFrom know-how to execution — in one app
Torch Real Estate computes the HeizkostenV, CO₂ split, rent increases and deposits by the book — with the statutes from these guides built in.