BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - According to the WWF, landlords should be required to fully absorb future additional costs resulting from fossil fuel heating. The environmental organization made this demand in a position paper obtained by the Deutsche Presse-Agentur in Berlin.
While owner-occupiers can protect themselves from rising costs by choosing climate-friendly and cost-efficient heating systems, tenants face the threat of enormous expenses, warned Viviane Raddatz, Head of Climate at WWF Germany. "The responsibility for poor decisions regarding fossil fuel heating must lie with those who make them."
The context is the reform of the Heating Act pursued by the "Grand Coalition" (CDU/CSU and SPD), which aims to create more opportunities for the use of fossil fuels. However, it remains unclear how tenants will be protected from the resulting financial burdens, such as the rising CO2 price.
What landlords should bear
For both new and existing heating systems, the WWF demands that costs arising from national or European CO2 pricing be fully borne by landlords and property owners. This should also apply to additional costs resulting from blending and procurement mandates for biofuels, as envisioned in the coalition's reform plans. Furthermore, the WWF believes landlords or owners should cover the costs associated with the expected increase in gas network charges.
Under the reform plans proposed by the Union and the SPD, property owners would continue to be allowed to install oil and gas heating systems in residential buildings. The blanket requirement that every newly installed heating system must be powered by 65 percent renewable energy is being scrapped. However, new gas and oil heaters must be operated with an increasing share of climate-friendly fuels starting in January 2029.
According to the WWF, a blueprint for its demands could be the proposals put forward by the German Tenants' Association and the Federation of German Consumer Organizations. These associations have proposed a relative heating cost cap. The maximum level would correspond to the price of the most economical heating option - the energy costs for an efficient heat pump. Any costs exceeding this would have to be covered by the landlord./hrz/DP/zb
