Property Tax Suddenly Much Higher in Your 2026 Service Charge Statement – Do You Have to Pay It?

The property tax reform is now feeding through into your service charge statement – often adding 30 to 100 per cent. What to check before you pay.

You open your service charge statement for 2025 and the property tax item is almost double what it was the year before. It is not a typo, and it is not your landlord acting on a whim – it is the property tax reform, which took effect on 1 January 2025 and is only now working its way into the statements. The question you are quite rightly asking yourself: do I simply have to accept this jump?

In short

Yes, property tax can in principle be passed on to you – but only if your tenancy agreement validly provides for it, and only in the amount actually assessed by the tax office. A markedly higher property tax bill for 2025/2026 is not, in itself, an error in the statement; it is a consequence of the reform. Even so, it is worth checking carefully: the apportionment key, the completeness of the supporting documents, and the twelve-month objection period all decide whether you have to pay or whether you can claim something back.

How I can help

• I check your service charge statement for both formal and substantive errors
• I clarify whether your tenancy agreement validly passes property tax on to you at all
• I request sight of the supporting documents from your landlord and examine the property tax assessment
• I draft objections within the deadline and represent you in any dispute over the statement

Why property tax is rising so sharply now

Until the end of 2024, property tax was calculated on the basis of standard assessed values (Einheitswerte) which, in the former West German states, still dated back to 1964 – Bavaria had its own procedure in any event. The Federal Constitutional Court had declared these outdated values unconstitutional, because they treated properties in wholly unequal ways. Since 1 January 2025 the reformed property tax has applied, based for the first time on current valuation criteria. Bavaria uses a pure area model, which looks solely at the size of the plot and the building and disregards location value – unlike the federal model, which also factors in the standard land value and the level of rents. Depending on the municipality and its multiplier (Hebesatz), the results vary widely: some plots are relieved, while many – particularly those in sought-after locations – are burdened considerably more. This new property tax falls due for the first time in 2025 and therefore now appears in the service charge statements for 2025, which reach you in 2026.

Is property tax even chargeable to you under your tenancy agreement?

Property tax is one of the operating costs (Betriebskosten) that a landlord may in principle pass on to the tenant. This follows from § 556 Abs. 1 BGB in conjunction with § 2 Nr. 1 of the Operating Costs Ordinance (Betriebskostenverordnung, BetrKV), which refers to the “ongoing public charges on the property” and makes clear that this expressly includes property tax. This apportionment does not, however, happen automatically. It must be specifically agreed in the tenancy agreement – either by naming property tax expressly, or through a valid catch-all clause referring to the schedule to § 2 BetrKV. Where no such agreement exists at all, the landlord may not pass property tax on, no matter how high it turns out to be. So check your tenancy agreement first, before you turn to the amount.

What to check specifically about the amount

Where apportionment has in principle been agreed, the landlord may pass on only the property tax actually assessed by the tax office – no more, no less. Ask, therefore, to see the current property tax assessment from the local authority; as a tenant you are entitled to it, because the statement must be capable of being followed by you. Also check the following:

• Apportionment key: Is the property tax distributed by floor area, by co-ownership shares, or by number of occupants – and does this match the method agreed in your tenancy agreement?
• Separation in mixed-use buildings: If the property also contains commercial units, their share of the property tax must be correctly deducted before the remainder is distributed among the flats.
• Period: Does the property tax being charged actually relate to the 2025 accounting period, or have arrears from earlier years been improperly rolled in?
• Plausibility of the increase: Given the reform, a doubling is genuinely possible in many Bavarian municipalities and is not, in itself, a sign of an error – but a comparison with the last property tax assessment brings clarity.

Access to documents, deadlines, and your firm right to check

As a tenant you have a right to inspect the documents underlying the statement, which derives from the general principle of accountability in § 259 BGB and is recognised, in the landlord–tenant relationship, as an ancillary duty arising out of the tenancy. Ask specifically for the property tax assessment and – where it exists – the distribution key for the whole property. The deadline under § 556 Abs. 3 BGB matters: you can raise objections to the statement only up to the end of twelve months after it reaches you; after that they are, as a rule, excluded, unless you are not responsible for the delay. Conversely, the landlord too must produce the statement within twelve months of the end of the accounting period; a late demand for a further payment is then, as a rule, no longer permitted. Make a note of the date your statement reached you, and act promptly if you have any doubts.

A typical case from practice

A tenant of a flat in the district of Ebersberg receives her 2025 service charge statement and finds that the property tax share has almost doubled compared with the previous year. She asks the landlord for the current property tax assessment. It turns out that the municipality has adjusted its multiplier and, under the Bavarian area model, the increase for this particular plot really is high – the figure is correct. On checking the apportionment key, however, it becomes apparent that the landlord has not deducted the commercial unit on the ground floor but has distributed the entire property tax among the residential tenants alone. Once corrected, the share falling to the tenant is noticeably reduced. The error, then, lay not in the level of the property tax itself, but in how it was distributed.

Common mistakes

• Paying the statement without checking it, on the basis that “the reform is pushing up costs everywhere” – without comparing the apportionment key and the assessment.
• Letting the twelve-month deadline slip by, because you only find the time to look at the statement later on.
• Objecting only verbally, without sending your objection to the landlord in writing and in a way that can be proved.
• Not checking the tenancy agreement for a valid apportionment clause, even though older or unclear clauses in particular are often open to challenge.
• Not even asking to see the supporting documents, for fear of conflict with the landlord – when this is a perfectly normal step, grounded in law.

Frequently asked questions

Can my landlord simply pass on the increased property tax in full?

Yes, if the apportionment of property tax is validly agreed in the tenancy agreement and the amount charged matches the actual property tax assessment. The reform itself is no bar to apportionment – what matters is the contractual clause, the correct apportionment key, and the proper allocation to the accounting period.

What if property tax is not even mentioned in the tenancy agreement?

Then it depends on whether a valid catch-all clause covering operating costs under the Operating Costs Ordinance has been agreed. If there is no agreement at all on passing operating costs on, property tax may not be charged to you.

How long do I have to challenge the statement?

You can raise objections up to the end of twelve months after the statement reaches you. After that, objections are, as a rule, excluded, unless you are not yourself responsible for the delay – so do not let the deadline pass.

Can I ask to see the property tax assessment?

Yes, you are entitled to inspect the documents underlying the statement, which include the property tax assessment. Make the request in writing and set a reasonable deadline.

What happens if I simply don’t pay?

Withholding the further payment across the board, without specific, reasoned objections, is risky and can lead to reminders or, in a dispute, to a court claim. Check the statement thoroughly first and, if necessary, lodge a reasoned objection within the deadline, rather than simply not responding.

Your next step

A markedly higher property tax figure in your service charge statement is usually real – but whether the amount, the apportionment key, and the deadlines are actually correct can only be said by looking at your particular tenancy agreement and your particular statement. Let me review your documents before the objection period runs out. For more on issues concerning your property, you will find an overview at /en/topics/real-estate-law. Arrange an initial consultation – I will tell you frankly whether an objection is worth pursuing.

This account is no substitute for legal advice in an individual case.

This article provides general information and is no substitute for legal advice in an individual case. Last updated: 2026-08-19.

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