Federal Construction Minister Verena Hubertz (SPD) wants landlords to share in potential heating cost increases resulting from the installation of natural gas or oil heating systems. “If a landlord decides to install such a system, which will generally be permitted under the new Building Modernization Act, then heating costs could rise considerably over the years due to increasing fuel prices,” she told Welt am Sonntag. “Because tenants have no say in this installation decision, I believe it is right that landlords also share in any cost increases.”
Hubertz stated that the currently high gas and oil prices, driven by geopolitical factors, already outweigh the effect of a future increase in CO2 prices. He added that the so-called “bio-staircase” also plays a role. According to a policy paper from the coalition, oil and gas heating systems will have to be increasingly powered by fuels such as biomethane and synthetic fuels in the future.
“If we need more biogas or bio-oil in the future – in transport and in the building sector – and this market first has to ramp up, it is foreseeable that prices will rise,” Hubertz told “Welt am Sonntag”.
The minister also warned of the threat of excessively high prices for district heating. “That’s why we’re working on a new legal framework for district heating,” she said. Hubertz added, referring to high tariffs: “It can’t be that there’s a mandatory connection at exorbitant prices, meaning you first have to pay thousands of euros just to get connected, and then you’re at the mercy of a price system you can’t control.”
AFP translated by Blackout News