CO2 costs borne jointly by landlords and tenants

Since 2021, a CO2 levy has been charged for heating with oil or natural gas. Until now, tenants had to bear these costs alone. With the new law on sharing the CO2 carbon dioxide costs, the federal government wants landlords to participate more from 2023 onwards according to a graduated model - depending on the energy status of the house.

The new law regulates the fair distribution of CO2 costs between landlords and tenants. It came into force on 1 January 2023. The federal government justifies the necessary participation of landlords in the costs as follows: "The worse the facade of a building is insulated, the older the heating system or the windows are, the more energy is needed for heating and the higher the CO2 costs. Unlike homeowners, tenants have no influence on these general conditions. They can only reduce costs by heating economically and efficiently."

The new regulation emphasises the task of landlords to equip apartment buildings with climate-friendly heating systems and to ensure good insulation. Tenants retain their own responsibility to heat as economically and efficiently as possible by continuing to pass on part of the CO2 costs to them.

According to the tier model, the less climate-friendly the house, the higher the share of the costs borne by the landlords. In the case of very high carbon dioxide emissions, this can be up to 95 percent of the CO2 price per square metre. A total of ten levels are envisaged, in which the share of the landlord's costs decreases steadily. In the case of very efficient buildings, tenants will continue to bear the costs alone.

The calculation is made with the heating bill. The emission level is calculated on the basis of the amount of CO2 and the living space. This assigns the property to a level in the ten-level model, from which the respective share for renters and leasers results.

In the case of non-residential buildings, a transitional split of the CO2 price applies. A tiered model as for residential buildings is not yet suitable, as these buildings are too different in their characteristics.

(Graphic: © Federal Ministry of Housing, Urban Development and Building, 2022)