Service costs

Service costs are costs that come in addition to the basic rent of a dwelling. The service costs must be clearly separated from the basic rent in the rental agreement. Service costs may only be charged if agreed in advance between the tenant and the landlord and are recorded in the rental agreement. Service costs include the following:

Fees for the the consumption of gas, electricity and water
Compensation for the use of furniture and upholstery
Other agreed costs, for example cleaning of the common areas or maintenance of a common garden

Adjustment monthly advance
The advance may not be increased inerim by the landlord, however, you can sent in an request yourself . Please sent us an email with your request servicekosten@rwb-vastgoedmanagement.nl with your reference number which you can find in your rental agreement article 4.

Service costs overview
The tenant pays a monthly advance on energy and on request the administrator will produce an annual settlement for the previous calender year. If the rental period ends, for example by notice, you will get a bill following the calender year in which the contract expires. The settlement concerns that part of the year that you have rented. Some landlords choose to don’t0 settle annually.

In the rental agreement also non-deductible costs are specified. The landlord provides these goods and services for a fixed fee which is not annually deducted. The tenant agrees to the composition of this package of additional supplies and services and the valuations of the furniture and upholstery. You could think of appliances like a washing machine or hood, but also services such as maintenance of mechanical ventilation or maintenance of fire extinguishers.

Apportionment of energy costs
Often energy costs relate to multiple living areas. The landlord divides the total of the various units by means of a predefined distribution. At the start of the rental agreement, the landlord and the tenant have made arrangements about the distribution of energy costs, see also article 2.3 of the rental agreement.

Deadline for drawing energy bill
Until July 1 of the following year, the landlord has the opportunity to provide you the settlement of the service costs. If the landlord provides the settlement after July 1, he is not allowed to increase the monthly advance payment. There is no penalty is the landlord provides this late. A late settlement also doesn’t exclude you from any back payment.

Administration fees
As stated in the rental agreement, for calculating and drawing up the energy settlement the landlord – or RWB Vastgoed Management on his behalf – is allowed to charge an administration fee to the tenant. These charges are set at a percentage of the total amount:

energy costs (gas/water/electricity): 5 % of the total amount (excluding any VAT)

If the landlord has contracted a specialized company, the rent assessment committee finds a fee of up to 1 % of the total amount (excluding any VAT) reasonable.

Objection
If you do not agree with your settlement, you can lodge an objection at bezwaar@rwb-vastgoedmanagement.nl. Clearly state to what the objection is presented, the reason for your objection and what the decision should have been. An objection can only be submitted in writing, enclosing a copy of the relevant invoice. If this doesn’t lead to an agreement, you can turn to the rental assessment committee. Please be aware that proceedings with the committee must be submitted within two years after the acount period. If you have a liberalized rental agreement, you can’t turn to the rental assessment committee, but you need to go to court to resolve any dispute about the service costs. You have liberalized rental agreement when the basic rent is above the deregulation threshold. From 01-01-2014 this is determined at €699,48 and is indexed annually.

Questions about service costs?
Should you not find the information you were looking for on this page, you can also ask your question via e-mail (servicekosten@rwb-vastgoedmanagement.nl). You may find more valuable information at www.rijksoverheid.nl