I get frequently asked if a tenant has to to pay the „apartment house renovation fees“ (remondifond).
If you’re renting an apartment, these fees are often part of the utilities bill. They’re collected to do bigger renovations works or pay the house’s loans, not to do the daily maintenance of the house.
As a tenant, you have to pay these fees only in the case when:
✔️ You have agreed to pay them in a written agreement (like the rental contract);
✔️ The agreement to pay the fees was made on 14.01.2021 or after;
✔️ The amount of the fees is reasonable and proportional on the market, considering the size of the apartment (usually these fees are around 30-40€ in middle-sized apartments) AND
✔️ The amount of the fees was foreseeable. They are not surprisingly high or when they’re high, utilities bills where shown to the tenant when signing the rental contract.
The renovation fees don’t have to be paid in the following cases:
❌ When the parties have no written agreement about paying the fees, the tenant is not obliged to pay them and can request the paid fees to be returned.
❌ When the agreement to pay these was made before 14.01.2021, the tenant is not obliged to pay these fees, as the law that allows to make these agreements was enforced on that date.
❌ When the amount of the fees is not reasonable, proportional or foreseeable, then the tenant has to pay the fees in the amount that can be considered normal on the market in similar apartments.
