Investor Guide
2026-10-10 08:33

Betriebskosten (operating costs): The Lease, Not the Statute, Decides Who Pays

Betriebskosten are the running costs of owning and using a property — property tax, insurance, water, waste disposal, cleaning and the like — which pass to the tenant only if the lease says so. In a supermarket they decide how much of the advertised rent the owner keeps: in our experience, even a new store with a modern lease leaves roughly 8–15% of net rent in costs with the landlord (Part 10).

What it is

The statutory definition covers the costs that the owner incurs on an ongoing basis through ownership of the land or through the intended use of the building, ancillary buildings, installations and land (§ 556(1) BGB; § 1(1) BetrKV). The Operating Costs Ordinance lists 17 categories, from property tax (no. 1) and building and liability insurance (no. 13) to "other operating costs" (no. 17) (§ 2 BetrKV). Two items are excluded by definition: management costs and the costs of maintenance and repair (§ 1(2) BetrKV).
The default is an inclusive rent: the landlord bears the charges on the property (§ 535(1) sentence 3 BGB), and costs pass to the tenant only by agreement. The rules of § 556 BGB, including the twelve-month deadline for the annual statement, belong to residential tenancy law and are not among the provisions that § 578 BGB extends to commercial premises. For a supermarket, the lease therefore defines which costs pass, how they are charged and how they are accounted for.

Why it matters to investors

The cost clause can outweigh the location. In the Mannheim case in Part 7, a new Netto lease let the landlord recover nothing at all. Every 10% of the rent a landlord absorbs takes 0.6 percentage points off a 6.0% headline yield. In the Part 11 example, non-recoverable costs of 15% of rent, €75,000 a year on €500,000, are one reason a store marketed at a 5.0% yield earns about 3.9% on the total outlay.
A common misreading lies in the word itself. A clause passing on "Betriebskosten" by reference to the ordinance reaches neither management fees nor repairs, because both are excluded from the definition. A commercial lease must name them separately. Even then, a standard-form clause can shift maintenance to the tenant only for damage arising from its use or risk sphere, which generally leaves roof and structure with the landlord (Part 10).

What to check

• The list of recoverable cost types, and whether management, insurance and property tax are named.
• The split of maintenance: interior, roof, structure, technical installations, car park.
• Advance payments, the statement procedure and the last three years' statements, including open disputes.
• The property-tax assessment under the 2025 reform, and who bears an increase (Part 10).
Related terms: Due Diligence · Gewährleistung · Schriftform (§ 550 BGB)
Sources: BGB §§ 535, 556, 578; Betriebskostenverordnung (BetrKV) §§ 1, 2; Gordon Real Estate Group, "German Prime Retail", Parts 7, 10 and 11. Legal position as of 10 October 2026.
Photo: Annie Spratt / Unsplash
This entry is general information and not legal or tax advice.