Looking for a new place to live, one of the most important starting points is the maximum budget you want to spent on living on a monthly basis. But don’t count yourself rich when you see the price of rent at first; even though rental cost has risen a lot lately, in general there are serveral other types of costs you have to take into account. What those cost are – in addition to the bare rent – you can read in this blog.
Moving costs
The moving process alone comes with a few different costs. For example, there is a good chance that you will be hiring a removal company or that you will be arranging a rental van yourself. In the case of an upholstered house, you obviously have to take into account the purchase of furniture. In the end, how expensive you make this, is up to you. In that respect, a furnished house is a lot easier and cheaper to enter. With a furnished house you are not only provided with the furniture, but also with, for example, cutlery, towels and bedding. This way you only have to move your own personal belongings.
Service Costs
The service costs are often the first thing you notice on your renting contract. The service costs are included in the total rent. The total rent consists of a number of components, including these service costs. The other costs that make up the total rent are the bare rent and a company for upholstery and/or furnishing. The service costs are paid monthly to the Owners’ Association. In a building, all the owners of the apartments contribute to this. This money is used to pay various items such as the caretaker and maintenance of gardens, elevators and the building. In addition, this money is used for the cleaning of central areas, the ragging of the windows and for painting, for example.
In addition to these costs related to housing, the service costs also often go to administration costs and to electricity, gas and water. The landlord chooses whether these costs will eventually be charged individually per tenant or whether the costs will be distributed on the basis of the allocation key.
Utilities
Although water, electricity, gas or district heating are often included in the service costs, this does not always have to be the case. In the case of unfurnished buildings, the tenant often arranges the contracts for these utilities themself. For gas, water and electricity, it is not uncommon for an advance payment to be charged. The tenant pays a certain amount each month and annually the difference between the actual consumption and the paid bills is settled. In obsolete buildings with block heating it is not possible to calculate the actual consumption per occupant. In these cases, a fixed amount is simply charged for utilities.
Municipal Charges
The sewerage and waste disposal levies are the most common cost items covered by municipal taxes. The occupant of the dwelling is obliged to pay them. However, it differs per municipality which levies have to be paid and whether the bill goes to the landlord or tenant. On the website of your own municipality you can easily check everything about the municipal taxes and what you, as a tenant, have to take into account.
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Do you have questions or remarks after reading this blog? Then send an email to info@expathousing.com and we will get back to you as soon as possible!