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New heating regulations: Millions of tenants now have to pay exactly!
Bremerhaven provides information about new heating cost regulations: From October 1st, 2025, landlords must install individual consumption meters.
New heating regulations: Millions of tenants now have to pay exactly!
Since October 2023, new legal regulations for utility billing have been in effect in Germany, which pose particular challenges for tenants in residential complexes with central heat pumps. Nord24 reports that the long-standing heat pump privilege has expired. As a result, landlords are now obliged to accurately record their tenants' energy consumption and bill them individually. Flat-rate utility bills are no longer permitted.
The new regulations aim to achieve greater transparency and fairness in heating costs. Tenants who heat less can also look forward to lower costs in the future. However, special measuring devices must be installed to document the actual consumption. Owners of such buildings are legally obliged to retrofit these technologies in a timely manner. Failure to comply can result in legal consequences that tenants should not simply ignore.
Next deadline is October 1, 2025
The transitional regulation, which applies until September 30, 2025, continues to cover the need for retrofitting the measuring devices. From October 1, 2025, consumption-based heating cost billing for heat pumps will be mandatory. Sparwasser & Schmidt explains that landlords now have to record the individual consumption of tenants. If they do not comply with this obligation, tenants can reduce their heating and hot water costs by up to 15%.
In addition, owners of apartment buildings have to make special calculations if at least one tenant is still dependent on rent. You must determine the average heating costs for the years 2022 to 2024 and compare this with the area of the individual units. This requires a huge amount of additional effort, especially for owners who have to adjust to the new billing mode.
Consequences for tenants and landlords
With the loss of the heat pump privilege, there will also be changes to rent increases following modernizations. Landlords are only allowed to pass on a rent increase in full if an annual performance factor of over 2.5 can be proven. If the value is lower, only 50% of the costs can be passed on to the tenants. However, exceptions apply to particularly new or energy-efficient buildings.
These changes bring with them many rules and regulations that pose new challenges for tenants and landlords alike. Given these developments, it is crucial for both tenants and landlords to be well informed and take the necessary steps in a timely manner.
With these innovations, heating costs are becoming more complex, but also fairer in terms of consumption-based billing. If you heat less, you pay less – that could be a pleasant surprise for many tenants. So stay informed about the upcoming changes in legislation and their impact on your home!