The traffic light partners have reached an agreement in the dispute over the heating law. From the point of view of the tenants’ association, the planned changes prevent tenants from having to fear significantly higher costs when replacing the heating system.
From the point of view of the German Tenants’ Association, the changes to the controversial Building Energy Act, which the parties of the traffic light coalition have agreed on, mean better protection for tenants against excessive costs.
“We have the impression that the factions of the SPD and the Greens have fortunately been able to assert themselves in some important points when it comes to tenant protection,” Lukas Siebenkotten, President of the German Tenants’ Association, told the dpa news agency. He named planned maximum limits and hardship regulations for rent increases.
Praise for planned capping limit
The planned changes to the so-called Heating Act provide for a cap on rents: These should not increase by more than 50 cents per square meter of living space if a new heating system is installed in the apartment.
If landlords implement further modernization measures in the apartments, the rent should be allowed to be increased by two to three euros as before. That would at least ensure that the situation for tenants does not deteriorate, said Siebenkotten.
“Milestone in terms of tenant protection”
The president of the association finds clear praise for the hardship regulations, which should always be possible in the future in the event of a heating replacement. Siebenkotten even spoke of a “milestone in terms of tenant protection”. If the rent increases to more than 30 percent of the household income as a result of the modernization, according to information from the traffic light groups, there should only be a limited apportionment. Landlords should therefore only partially pass on the costs associated with the modernization to the end of the tenant. In the case of index rents, an increase as a result of a heating replacement should be completely ruled out, which Siebenkotten also rates positively.
The German real estate association, on the other hand, had criticized the planned changes to the heating law. They threatened to become an extreme burden for landlords, since they would have to bear most of the risk of a cost explosion.
The Bundestag is scheduled to vote next week
The so-called heating law should take effect from next year. According to this, at least 65 percent of every heating system installed in new buildings should be operated with renewable energies. A transition period of several years is planned for new heating systems in existing buildings.
According to the traffic light groups, the amended Building Energy Act is to be put on the agenda of the Bundestag and passed in the coming week.
The climate policy spokesman for the Union faction in the Bundestag, Andreas Jung (CDU), criticized the planned vote in the coming week Deutschlandfunk as “dubious”. This may leave MPs little time to prepare for the debate. A lot of porcelain had been smashed in the past few months, emphasized Jung. It is therefore important that the details of the amended draft law can be carefully examined.