Consumptions

Not all services besides your rent can be legally charged by your landlord. This applies both in relation to your actual consumption and charging for other special services.

Specifically about consumption:

When the landlord is responsible for the delivery of consumption to the lease, the landlord will be able to charge an advance amount for water, heat and electricity in addition to the rent. However, your landlord can only charge an advance amount for water and electricity for other than heating if your lease is equipped with individual meters.

If your lease does not have individual meters, consumption for water and electricity for other than heating must be included in your rent and cannot be charged separately. If your landlord nevertheless does so, we can demand that he repay you all you have paid on account for water and electricity for other than heating, for the period you have lived in the lease. However, this is limited by the rules of the Limitation Act, which has set a deadline of 3 years, for such claims.

Special services in particular:

As a rule, your rent must cover all your landlord's expenses for the property. It therefore requires valid reason to charge special services in addition to the rent. The valid reason can be deduced from case law and the Rent Act. When there is no valid reason, the charge will be illegal. For example, it cannot legally be charged for: refuse collection, PBS payment, washing of the stairs, laundry and pest control.

If a resident representation has been established in the property, the landlord must legally be able to collect a fee on behalf of the resident representation for their work, which, however, must not exceed DKK 569 annually (2024 index). The monthly rent collection must state the amount charged on behalf of the resident representation.

Antenna fees, TV, cooling and internet can legally be charged on account in addition to the rent. It is therefore important that you investigate the lease for illegal services, otherwise you risk being charged services that are illegal. If you as a tenant are met with an unreasonable claim, it will be possible to demand set-off, reduction or refund.

If you are in doubt whether you pay illegally charged on account, or services in addition to your rent that your landlord does not have the authority to charge for, please contact us so we can look at your lease and any consumption accounts.