Current heating costs ordinance: Everything you need to know

The Heating Costs Ordinance (HeizKV) regulates the distribution of heating and hot water costs in apartment buildings and commercial properties with central heating systems. The current version contains significant changes that are primarily intended to bring more transparency and a fairer distribution of costs for tenants and owners. In this guide, you will find out what changes there are, what owners need to bear in mind and how the new regulations affect heating bills.

What is the Heating Costs Ordinance?

The Heating Costs Ordinance is a legal regulation that stipulates how heating and hot water costs are distributed among users in buildings with a shared heating supply. The aim is to ensure fair consumer protection and to promote more economical use of energy through consumption-based billing.

Who is affected?

The regulation applies to:

• Landlords of apartment buildings if the heat is generated centrally
• Community of owners who use a communal heating system
• Tenants who pay a share of the heating costs
• Commercial tenants, if there is a central heating system in the commercial property

Important changes to the current Heating Costs Ordinance

The latest revision of the Heating Costs Ordinance brings with it numerous changes and new obligations for landlords. The most important changes are:

1. The obligation to read meters remotely

• Newly installed or replaced meters must be remotely readable.
• All existing meters must be converted to remote reading by 2026 at the latest.
• The aim: More transparency for consumers through regular consumption information.
  
  

2. Monthly consumption information for tenants

• Landlords must inform residents of their current heating and hot water consumption on a monthly basis.
• This can be done via app, email or online portal.
• The aim: Tenants should be able to better control their heating costs and save energy.
  
  

3. Stricter requirements for heating bills

• Heating bills must contain more detailed information, e.g. comparative values and CO₂ emissions.
• The billing must be transparent and comprehensible.
  
  

4. CO₂ cost allocation between landlord and tenant

• The CO₂ costs for heating are no longer fully allocated to the tenants.
• There is a graduated model that allocates the CO₂ costs fairly between landlord and tenant.
• The worse the energy efficiency of a building, the more CO₂ costs the landlord bears.

Effects on tenants and landlords

For tenants

✔ More transparency thanks to monthly consumption information
✔ Possibility to better control your own heating behavior
✔ More equitable distribution of CO₂ costs depending on the building's energy efficiency
✔.Costs depending on building energy efficiency

For landlords

✔ Obligation to retrofit remotely readable meters by 2026
✔ More effort due to monthly consumption information
✔ Cost sharing in the CO₂-levy depending on the energy efficiency of the building

Tips for tenants to reduce heating costs

• Regular shock ventilation instead of permanently tilted windows
• Adjust thermostats correctly (e.g. level 3 corresponds to approx. e.g. level 3 corresponds to approx. 20°C)
• Do not cover radiators with furniture or curtains
• Use night setback to reduce heating costs
  
  

Conclusion: The Heating Costs Ordinance promotes transparency and energy efficiency

The current Heating Costs Ordinance ensures greater transparency, consumption-based billing and a fairer distribution of heating costs between landlords and tenants. In particular, the obligation for remote meter reading and monthly consumption information offer tenants the opportunity to better manage their energy consumption and save on heating costs. For landlords, however, the regulation means additional investment in new metering technology and a change in billing processes.

To avoid cost increases, both tenants and landlords should familiarize themselves with the new regulations at an early stage and consider measures to reduce heating costs. Further information is available from the relevant state authority or the landlords' association.