Kassel pays back 40 million euros: This is how you get your money!

Kassel pays back 40 million euros: This is how you get your money!

The city of Kassel recently took a surprising turn in a legal dispute over excessive water fees. According to a ruling by the Hessian Administrative Court in autumn 2023, citizens are obliged to repay around 40 million euros to customers. This affects all those who have paid water fees since June 2017. The Rundschau reported that The repayments should begin when the corrected fee notices are sent out from mid-November 2025.

But how exactly does it work? The first 55,000 people and companies will receive their notices from December 2025, which should be completed by the end of January 2026. Anyone who then has a notice in hand can look forward to a repayment within eight weeks. On average, two-person households with normal water consumption can look forward to around 300 euros. But it's not just current owners who are affected - former owners and their heirs can also assert claims.

Repayment details

In the first phase, around 25,000 refund transactions with old cash register symbols are required, which will run via a digital application form from spring 2026. A rolling process is intended to ensure that repayments proceed quickly and smoothly. However, it should be noted that the city of Kassel only reimburses people authorized to represent homeowners' associations, so property managers or landlords are often the recipients of the reimbursements.

Another aspect that adds to the current anger is the fact that, after two increases in water fees in 2020 and 2024, another increase of 11% is planned for January 2026. This could perhaps cause citizens' dissatisfaction to flare up again. However, the city has set up a hotline that will be available for questions until March 2026 to clear up any confusion.

Additional Information

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At a time when repayments and new fees are on the agenda, it will be interesting to see how the situation in Kassel develops and whether this inspires other cities to consider similar repayments.