A ruling by the Higher Administrative Court (OVG) on the calculation of wastewater charges in the town of Oer-Erkenschwick now has consequences for the whole of North Rhine-Westphalia. In the case in question, a property owner had filed a complaint against a wastewater assessment for 2017. According to this, he was to pay around 600 euros in wastewater fees. The OVG concluded that the wastewater assessment was unlawful and also 18 percent too high.
The OVG cited several reasons for this: The concrete calculation of imputed depreciation and interest leads to a fee income that exceeds the costs of the facilities. In addition, charges may only be levied to the extent that they are necessary for the continuous fulfillment of the wastewater disposal tasks.
In addition, the OVG was also unable to understand the calculation of the interest rate of 6.52 percent by the Municipal Audit Office of North Rhine-Westphalia. According to the judges, the calculations would have to be based on an interest rate of only 2.42 percent. The OVG did not allow an appeal. The city can appeal against this, which will be decided by the Federal Administrative Court. Among others, property owners from NRW who have appealed against their wastewater assessments will presumably benefit from the decision.
Source: ovg.nrw.de
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