Reader question: Which cable costs may still appear after the end of the ancillary costs privilege?
The current ancillary costs statement still contains a line for cable or broadband. You remember that such charges were abolished from 2024. For a concrete check you still need the service content: the old monthly TV basic charge and certain costs of a building distribution system are not the same item.
What has changed for the basic charges
The Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) explains that, since 1 July 2024, landlords may no longer charge monthly fees for the contractually agreed TV or broadband connection as ancillary costs. Supply on the basis of a corresponding individual contract is a separate route. [BNETZA-KABEL]
§ 2 number 15 BetrKV explicitly limits the previously mentioned basic charges and further charge items to the period up to 30 June 2024. It also contains different rules for antenna, broadband and certain fibre-optic distribution systems as well as an additional construction cut-off date. [BetrKV2]
An old line heading is not enough
Our editorial recommendation: request the service description, billing period and underlying receipt for the position in question. Ask whether a connection basic fee, operating electricity, another system service or a fibre provision charge is meant. The blanket answer “That has always been cable” does not distinguish these possibilities.
You should not simply delete the whole line on account of its name. Operating costs require an appropriate agreement and a permissible basis. § 556 BGB also contains the right to inspect receipts and special requirements for a fibre provision charge. [BGB556] Such a charge is not an arbitrary new name for the former cable-TV flat rate.
Check period and service side by side
For an old statement for 2024 the separation before and after the cut-off date can become relevant. For a later period the question must be posed differently: which concrete service that is still permissible today is to be charged at all? An existing contract on the owners' side does not by itself answer the apportionment to tenants.
Record confirmed facts and outstanding information. If a receipt bundles several services, ask for their comprehensible allocation. An arbitrarily chosen halving is not a reliable substitute calculation.
A hypothetical dual finding
In Selim’s statement there is a small amount for the power supply of the house distribution system and additionally a continued monthly connection fee. He asks separately for the basis and period for both items. He does not confuse the technical system in the cellar with his chosen television service.
After the explanation each item can be checked according to the relevant rule. The example confirms neither the small amount nor a concrete reimbursement; it shows the necessary separation of two services to be treated differently.
Organise your own connection independently
If you have contracted a service yourself, keep that contract separate from the ancillary costs statement. When there is a change, check which supply you actually need and which offers exist at your address. The article makes no tariff recommendation and gives no guarantee of availability.
For the rental cost dispute invoice, receipt, period and asserted legal basis remain decisive. Have objection deadlines and the handling of disputed amounts checked separately. A correct reminder of the reform cut-off date is the starting point, not already the complete bill check.