Breakdown of heating costs

Breakdown of heating costs

"I'm a tenant in a block of flats in Les Pâquis and the Régie refuses to give me the heating bills for my neighbours. Does it have the right to refuse to give them to me because the distribution of heating costs seems fanciful to me and I'd like to be able to check it?"

Francis, Geneva

Heating costs are ancillary costs to the rent which, if provided for in the lease, are payable by the tenant (art. 257 a al. 2 Code des Obligations).

In the Canton of Geneva, individual billing of heating costs is compulsory for most buildings with at least five units to be heated. In the case of buildings that do not have individual meters, heating costs are in practice apportioned between the various tenants on the basis of a distribution key. This is set by the installer and established in proportion to the volume (m3) or surface area (m2) of the various premises heated. This means that the tenant pays the costs on the basis of an average and not according to actual consumption, which can be frustrating when the neighbour's energy consumption is significantly higher. However, if the building includes craft, industrial or commercial premises, these must be taken into account when apportioning costs.

With regard to the landlord's obligation to provide you with information, you have the right to inspect the original supporting documents on which the claim against you is based (art. 257 b para. 2 CO). In addition, you may ask to be informed of the state of fuel stocks at the beginning and end of the heating period. This right of inspection exists as long as the parties' claims are not time-barred, i.e. within five years of the due date (art. 128 ch. 1 CO). Certain rental rules and practices in the canton of Geneva also stipulate that the landlord must provide the tenant with a copy of the general account and the breakdown of the building and must provide the tenant with all relevant explanations verbally or in writing.

In this case, the problem is not so much being able to check the bills sent to your neighbour as knowing whether the breakdown of costs is done fairly. In the absence of individual meters, you will have to abide by the terms of the lease and pay the average heating costs, unless your bill does not comply with the allocation key initially set or if the presence of a business in the building has not been taken into account in the calculation made by your landlord.