My landlord wants to increase charges retroactively: 1,200 EUR claimed

March 2025 — the surprise

I have been living in a 2-bedroom apartment on the 4th floor of a building in Etterbeek for 3 years. Rent: 1,050 EUR + 150 EUR charge provisions. My landlord, Mr Lemaire, in his sixties, owns 3 apartments in the building. A residential lease of 3-6-9.

On 5 March, I received a letter from Mr Lemaire: “Charge regularisation 2023-2024: balance due of 1,200 EUR.” The letter mentioned an increase in co-ownership charges and asked me to pay this sum within 30 days. No statement attached. No supporting documents. Just an amount and a deadline.

1,200 EUR is the equivalent of 8 months of charge provisions. My reflex: do not pay and request an explanation.

March 2025 — analysing the statement

On 10 March, I replied by email to Mr Lemaire, demanding the detailed statement of charges with supporting documents, as provided for in the lease and the Brussels Housing Code.

On 25 March, I finally received the statement. 4 pages, 23 charge items. I took the time to analyse it line by line with the lease in hand. Result:

Charges recoverable from the tenant (legitimate):

• Communal water: 180 EUR/year (OK)
• Communal electricity: 220 EUR/year (OK)
• Common areas cleaning: 480 EUR/year (OK)
• Lift (contract + maintenance): 320 EUR/year (OK)

Charges NOT recoverable from the tenant (illegitimate):

• Co-ownership reserve fund: 600 EUR/year (landlord’s responsibility)
• Building manager’s fees: 450 EUR/year (landlord’s responsibility)
• Roof repair: 1,800 EUR shared (landlord’s responsibility)
• Building insurance: 380 EUR/year (landlord’s responsibility)

Recalculating with only the recoverable items, the actual supplement over 2 years was 340 EUR (i.e. 170 EUR/year), not 1,200 EUR. Mr Lemaire had passed on the full co-ownership charges without sorting.

April 2025 — the challenge

On 2 April, I sent a registered letter to Mr Lemaire. I detailed item by item which charges were recoverable and which were not, with reference to the lease articles and the Brussels Housing Code. I concluded: I acknowledge owing 340 EUR in regularisation, but refuse the 860 EUR in non-recoverable charges.

Mr Lemaire called me on 8 April, annoyed: “The co-ownership charges have gone up, it’s normal that I pass them on.” I calmly explained the distinction to him. He insisted: “My building manager invoices me for everything, and you benefit from it.”

I proposed a meeting to discuss calmly, documents in hand. On 20 April, we met around a table. I had printed the lease and the building manager’s statement. After 45 minutes, Mr Lemaire understood — or accepted — that the reserve fund and roof repairs were not my responsibility.

May 2025 — the agreement

On 8 May, we signed a written agreement:

• I pay 340 EUR in regularisation in 2 monthly instalments of 170 EUR (May and June)
• Mr Lemaire undertakes to provide a detailed annual statement each year before 31 March
• Monthly provisions increase from 150 to 175 EUR to cover the real increase in recoverable charges
• The agreement lists the exhaustive recoverable items, to avoid any future ambiguity

Result: 1,200 EUR claimed, 340 EUR actually due. 860 EUR saved by taking the time to analyse the statement. The resolution took 9 weeks, without a court, without a lawyer, without conflict. I used a rental management software to archive the statements and track payment history.

What I learned

This experience reminded me that trust does not exclude scrutiny. Three lessons for every tenant:

1. Never pay a charge regularisation without a detailed statement. It is your right to demand one, and it is the landlord’s obligation to provide it. Without a statement, no payment.

2. Learn to distinguish recoverable from non-recoverable charges. The reserve fund, structural works, building manager’s fees, building insurance: all of that is the landlord’s responsibility. Many landlords do not make the distinction, through ignorance rather than bad faith.

3. A reasoned registered letter is better than a phone call. My letter detailing item by item the contested charges framed the discussion. Mr Lemaire could not ignore the written arguments as he could have ignored a verbal remark.

For other rental dispute situations: My landlord enters my home without warning, My landlord will not make repairs and My landlord refuses to return the deposit.