Arrears on the Rundfunkbeitrag: instalments and deferment

As a rule, yes – but the timing is decisive. As long as enforcement has not yet been initiated, instalment payments or a deferment can be arranged; a simple letter is enough, clearly naming the application. If, on the other hand, an attachment is already under way, instalment payments are, according to the official guidance, no longer possible: the attachment only ends once the attached amount has been paid in full, and only for a remaining balance can an instalment then be agreed again. The official advice is therefore explicitly to arrange instalment payments before enforcement takes place. State a specific monthly instalment and a start date, and enclose proof of your financial situation.

It is not in the state treaty, but in the by-law – and that explains why conflicting figures circulate about it. § 9 Abs. 2 RBStV only authorises the Landesrundfunkanstalt to regulate the “levying of interest, costs and late-payment penalties” by by-law, without naming an amount itself. The contribution by-laws, which are essentially identical in wording, provide in their § 11: if it is not paid in full within four weeks of falling due, a late-payment penalty of 1% of the outstanding contribution debt, but at least €8.00, falls due. Three details are mostly left out: the four-week deadline (it does not come only after a payment reminder), the one per cent (for high arrears, well above €8) and that only a single one can be assessed per notice.

This hinges on a single fork: whether an assessment notice has become final and binding. Without a notice, § 7 Abs. 4 RBStV applies: “The limitation of the contribution claim is governed by the provisions of the Civil Code on the standard limitation period” – that is, three years. If, on the other hand, a notice has been issued and has become unchallengeable, because the one-month objection period has expired, § 53 Abs. 2 VwVfG provides: “Where an administrative act … has become unchallengeable, the limitation period is 30 years.” For you, that means: the month after the notice decides between three and thirty years. So respond to every notice, even if you cannot pay – if only to have the claim checked.

No, and that is a common miscitation. § 197 Abs. 1 BGB exhaustively lists six cases in which a claim becomes time-barred after 30 years: compensation for the intentional infringement of certain legal interests, claims for the return of property, claims established by a final court judgment, claims under enforceable settlements or instruments, claims established in insolvency proceedings, and the costs of compulsory enforcement. An administrative act is not among them. For claims under public law that are established by an unchallengeable administrative act, § 53 Abs. 2 VwVfG applies instead. So the figure is correct, the provision is not – and anyone who argues with the wrong one loses credibility exactly where it counts.

The process is predictable and escalates in stages: four-week payment deadline → assessment notice with a late-payment penalty → payment reminder (Mahnung) → enforcement. Enforcement takes place under § 10 Abs. 6 RBStV in the administrative enforcement procedure, typically through attachment of the bank account – in which case the account is initially blocked and transactions are not possible – or through attachment of wages, where the employer withholds the attachable amounts and thereby learns of the matter. Two consequences weigh especially heavily: from the point of attachment, instalment payments are no longer possible, and the final and binding notice extends the limitation period to 30 years. At every earlier stage, by contrast, a solution is possible – and considerably cheaper.

Not instalment payments, but the exemption – and specifically retroactively. Under § 4 Abs. 4 RBStV, it takes effect “at the earliest, however, three years before the first of the month” in which it is applied for. Anyone who, during the period of the arrears, has already received Grundsicherungsgeld, Grundsicherung im Alter, Hilfe zum Lebensunterhalt (assistance with living expenses), BAföG or another benefit named in § 4 RBStV, can thereby make the arrears disappear in whole or for the most part, instead of merely spreading them out. Enclose the benefit notices for the entire period and expressly apply for the retroactive effect. Always check this first – an instalment arrangement for an amount you do not even owe is the most expensive of all solutions.

Yes, the ongoing fees, certainly – and that is what most arrangements fail on. A deferment relates exclusively to the accrued arrears; the fee of €18.36 newly arising each month continues unchanged and must be paid on time. Anyone who lumps the two together builds up new arrears alongside the deferred old balance, the arrangement lapses, and the position in the next negotiation is considerably worse. The deferment is, moreover, designed for at most two years. So calculate realistically: the instalment plus the ongoing fee must be sustainable in the long term. If that is not the case, ask about a settlement or – where inability to pay is proven – about a temporary suspension of collection.

At a recognised debt counselling service. If the Rundfunkbeitrag stands alongside rent, energy or other debts, the order of priority is decisive – and rent debts take priority, because the home depends on them. The counselling is provided by organisations such as Caritas, Diakonie, Arbeiterwohlfahrt, Der Paritätische or the Verbraucherzentralen (consumer associations); it is free of charge and never requires payment in advance. Register early, because waiting times vary considerably by region, and prepare the list of creditors while you wait. A second, often overlooked step: set up a protected attachment account (Pfändungsschutzkonto, P-Konto) before the first bank account attachment arrives – after that, it is considerably more difficult to get at your own money.