In November 2014, a couple rented an apartment in a residential complex in Berlin-Buch. In the residential area there are green spaces, social facilities, sports facilities and children's playgrounds. The complex is open to the public; according to the house rules, the owners and tenants of the residential complex have the same rights of use as visitors.
The owner and landlord of the couple's apartment apportioned the costs incurred for the maintenance of the green and common areas of the residential complex to the tenants in the service charge statement. In the service charge statement for 2016, the tenants were charged just under 410 euros for this. In the following year 2017, it was over 120 euros. The tenants refused to pay these costs. The landlady then filed a lawsuit, as she considered the claim to be admissible (AZ 65 S 132/19).
Both the Pankow/Weißensee Local Court and the Berlin Regional Court considered the allocation of garden maintenance costs to the tenants' ancillary costs to be inadmissible and dismissed the action and the appeal. This is because in this case the building planning provisions of the residential quarter permit the use of the complex by the public. A dedication of a residential development to the public means that anyone can use the space, regardless of whether they own or rent an apartment. Accordingly, the garden maintenance costs cannot be allocated to the tenants, as the reference to the rented property is missing.
Source: LG Berlin
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