Ancillary housing costs in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) have recently risen by an unusually high 9.7%. Net rents have also risen by 1.7 percent. Overall, housing costs have risen by 5 percent as a result. Tenants in NRW now have to pay an average of EUR 13.15 per square meter per month for housing - of which EUR 7.68 is for rent and EUR 5.46 for ancillary costs.
This is according to the NRW housing cost report published by the owners' association Haus & Grund Rheinland Westfalen. "The inflation rate for 2021 was 3.1 percent. Rents have risen [...] significantly less than general inflation, but ancillary housing costs have risen much more sharply," says association president Konrad Adenauer. According to Haus & Grund Rheinland Westfalen, this development is mainly due to the average increase in heating costs of around 30.5 percent and the 21.3 percent rise in the cost of hot water.
The increase in costs is due to economic developments on the one hand and the CO2 tax on the other. According to Haus & Grund, costs in other areas have also risen, for example for garden maintenance, janitors and chimney sweeps. These developments are causing problems for tenants and landlords: While 27.3 percent of tenants still had to make an additional payment after receiving their utility bill in 2020, this figure had already risen to 42.5 percent in 2021. Landlords have to advance the missing amount until the annual statement. Interested parties can download the full housing costs report free of charge at hausundgrund-verband.de/themen/wohnkostenbericht/.
Source: hausundgrund-verband.de
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