Ex post facto operational expense payments can be asserted in documentation proceedings
> December 2014
The German Federal Court of Justice has recently ruled that landlords can assert balances arising from an operational costs account statement during documentation proceedings.
The prerequisite is that landlords can prove the facts which substantiate any claims and which require evidence with documentation. Here, (i) a lease agreement has to be presented, which shows that the tenant has the duty to bear certain costs, and (ii) the operational costs account statement which shows a receivable claim. Finally, receipt must be evidenced through evidentiary documentation.Further documents need not always be presented. Yet, the documents must show that the ancillary costs account statement had been received by the tenant in due time. And the account statement must be formally effective.
Any tenant that has objected to the claim reserves the right to exercise its rights in subsequent proceedings in the event it is ordered to pay. Yet, during the subsequent proceedings, the landlord can enforce the judgment subject to such reservation without rendering security therefor.
