Reader question: How do I present necessary personal expenses for a maintenance measure and request an advance payment in advance?
The announced repair can be carried out in your flat, but it will cause necessary expenses to you personally. You may need to store items elsewhere temporarily or pay a particular organisation. In Germany, §555a Absatz 3 BGB provides for reimbursement of expenses that the tenant must incur as a result of a maintenance measure, to a reasonable extent. An advance payment is to be made on request. [BGB555a]
Which specific expense falls under this depends on the actual need. A repair announcement does not automatically make every desired solution reimbursable. The helpful first step is therefore a comprehensible link between the measure, the necessary action and the costs.
Specify the scope of work
Clarify with the responsible party which rooms are needed when, what actually has to be cleared and which services the contracted company will perform itself. An unclear phrase such as “Please prepare everything” is not a reliable basis for larger personal orders.
The provision concerns necessary maintenance or repair. Maintenance measures are generally to be announced in good time; statutory exceptions apply in the case of insignificant impact or when immediate execution is strictly necessary. This article therefore does not assume a rigid general notice period. [BGB555a]
Justify the need and chosen solution
Write down three things for each expected expense: Why does the measure require this action? Which actually available solution is possible? How was the amount determined? A quote or a comprehensible price breakdown is more useful than a flat amount for inconvenience.
Compare practicable alternatives under your real circumstances. A theoretically free space, for example, does not help if the required items cannot be stored there at all. Conversely, a chargeable service should not be chosen without explanation if the work already includes the same service. This article does not confirm any specific storage, hotel or transport entitlement.
Explicitly request the advance payment
If the necessary costs are incurred before the start, request the pre-financing specifically. Name the maintenance measure, the expected expense requirement and the basis for the amount. Point out when the payment is needed for the organisation. This allows the need to be decided before you personally advance substantial sums. [BGB555a]
A mere request to cover all costs at some point leaves the amount and due date of your concrete planning open. Record the response and clarify disputed positions before you trigger irreversible orders. For an urgent dispute, individual advice is sensible; the right to an advance payment does not here automatically imply a general entitlement to refuse access.
A hypothetical cost reconciliation
For the work, a defined part of the furnishings must be temporarily removed. The tenant presents two available storage offers and explains why an existing private option is unsuitable. On this basis she requests a quantified advance payment. Even before booking, it becomes apparent that the company can itself move and protect some of the items.
The itemisation is correspondingly smaller. After the work the tenant collects the receipts actually incurred and reconciles them with the advance payment. Advance payment and finally necessary costs are two related stages.
§555a Absatz 4 protects against unfavorable deviations from paragraphs 2 and 3. The final need should nevertheless be factually justified. The result is a verifiable expense claim; compensation for every annoyance or damages for fault are not automatically granted by this. [BGB555a]