“The hammer is yet to come”
Tenants with oil heating pay the most
03/09/2023, 6:55 p.m
Heating costs are a grab bag for tenants. They often do not know how much their landlord will pay for the energy. The first accounts for 2022 suggest that users of oil heating systems pay the most. The service provider Ista warns of further price increases in 2023.
The sharp increase in energy costs in 2022 will hit many tenant households in Germany with a significant delay. According to the “Spiegel”, this is suggested by an evaluation by the real estate service provider Ista of a good 156,000 heating bills for 2022. According to this, the average costs for tenant households with gas heating even fell by three percent last year, to 556 euros. According to Ista, this is due to various reasons: Firstly, households used less gas while the weather was comparatively warm. Second, the federal government took over the December deductions for gas and district heating. Third, many utilities only increased their gas prices later in the year.
However, Ista boss Hagen Lessing spoke of a deceptive calm. “Many people may now think that the gas price crisis would not have happened,” Lessing told the magazine. “But the opposite is the case: the hammer is yet to come.” Accordingly, gas costs could rise by 58 percent this year, but only if households continue to save and the weather remains mild. If, on the other hand, the weather and consumption fall back to the pre-crisis pattern of 2021, spending would more than double.
According to the information, tenants who use district heating had to pay an average of 800 euros in 2022, around eight percent more than in 2021. Thanks to the state heat price brake, district heating users can expect a drop in heating costs this year. According to the accounts, the costs for tenant households with oil heating rose by 41 percent in 2022 to an average of 836 euros. For this year, Ista is forecasting a further increase, depending on consumption by up to 68 percent, according to the “Spiegel”.
Tenants’ association demands more transparency
The German Tenants’ Association (DMB) complained that its clientele still found it difficult to assess the burden of the crisis and the effect of the price brakes. “There is a lack of transparency and market supervision,” said DMB President Lukas Siebenkotten to the magazine. “Many tenants are still waiting for the information letter from their landlord.” The Tenants’ Association as well as Ista recommend that owners and tenants should adjust the monthly deductions for heating costs to the new price levels.
A new regulation should ensure a little more predictability. Landlords must inform every household monthly by the end of 2026 at the latest about how much heating energy it uses. Service providers like Ista are therefore gradually converting their small measuring devices on the radiators to remote reading. Tenants can then check their consumption monthly – also via app.