Press release

Survey reveals: 60 percent of German tenants struggle with rental expenses

Hamburg (19 March 2014) - Electricity, water, gas - for more and more tenants, the service charges is becoming prohibitive. For six in ten Germans, the 'second rent' represents a considerable financial burden, month after month. Worse yet, the vast majority (70 percent) fears that service charges will continue to rise uncontrollably. As a result, rental expenses play a major role in the search for a new apartment. These are the findings of a representative survey jointly carried out by TAG Immobilien AG and the Technical University of Darmstadt. 1,000 tenants in Germany were interviewed for the study.

According to the latest calculations by the German Tenants' Association, the 21 million renter households in this country pay an average 2.20 euros per square meter per month for rental expenses. "As a landlord, we notice in our daily work what a serious drain on our tenant's wallets the high service charges are," says Claudia Hoyer, TAG Director / Board member responsible for real estate management.

So someone who lives in an 80-square meter apartment has to plan to spend over 2,100 euros a year on average for service charges. Therefore, 95 percent of German renters see these expenses as a crucial factor when searching for a new home - even more important than a quiet location (89 percent) or the reputation of the neighbourhood (84 percent). And 89 percent of respondents wish that their landlord would do more to minimise the service charges.

"As a landlord, we see it as our responsibility to keep service charges low," says Claudia Hoyer. "Many property owners still tend to see operating and heating costs as items simply to be passed through to the tenants. We are aware of these costs and look for savings on every single item through systematic management."

TAG has already achieved considerable success in this respect. The publicly listed group has reduced rental expenses for its tenants in Salzgitter by up to 340 euros - or 20 percent of the total rent per apartment - per year. Since TAG acquired the inventory in 2011, the costs of energy, waste disposal and janitorial services have been optimised. The result: for almost all of the 8,800 residential units with more than 15,000 tenants in the city on the northern outskirts of the Harz Mountains, the total monthly rent has come down.

"We not only offer our customers affordable housing with solid equipment, but also actively control costs by resolutely re-tendering and negotiating contracts with energy and disposal companies to find sustainable solutions," says the TAG Director.

About TAG Immobilien AG
TAG Immobilien AG an MDAX-listed company with a more than 125-year history. Its primary locations are in the Greater Hamburg and Berlin areas, the Salzgitter region, as well as Thuringia / Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. TAG currently manages about 74,000 dwellings and the associated commercial areas, garages and parking spaces. The company's goal is to improve the quality of housing for its tenants. In line with this, TAG adapts its holdings to modern living needs to, gets involved in the communities of its residential quarters, and promotes a good neighbourhood spirit. The Group continually reduces vacancy and increasing the value of its total portfolio through prudent management of its properties and a future-oriented/forward-looking development of its overall portfolio.

Press enquiries:
TAG Immobilien AG
Head of Investor & Public Relations
Dominique Mann
Phone +49 (0) 40 380 32 300
Fax +49 (0) 40 380 32 390
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