Due to unclear clause

Tenants no longer have to pay operating costs

The determination of operating costs in the rental agreement is subject to the transparency requirement.(Bild: Viennareport/www.VIENNAREPORT.at Volkmar Schulz / Keystone)

A Salzburg couple will no longer have to pay the landlord for sewerage, water and heating in future - they will even get back the operating costs they have paid so far. This was decided by the Supreme Court in a legal dispute. The reason is a "non-transparent" clause. The Salzburg lawyer explains the details to the "Krone".

The tenants, a Salzburg couple, and the landlord, the managing director of a company, had been friends for decades. Together, the two parties signed a tenancy agreement in July 2020, which stipulated a tenancy for an apartment in the city of Salzburg starting in January 2021. Rent: 1285 euros plus VAT and 180 euros for operating costs.