Housing Industry Warns of Skyrocketing Costs in the Heating Transition

The Saxon housing industry wants to protect its tenants from the high follow-on costs of the energy and heating transition. “Rising CO2 costs, high investment needs, new billing and cost-allocation regulations, as well as last-minute changes to subsidy conditions are increasing the pressure on tenants, socially oriented housing companies, and municipal energy providers,” the associations made clear. 

Companies Do Not Want to Be a Testing Ground

“Housing companies must not become a testing ground for a transformation in which effort, uncertainty, and risk are out of balance. We plan and invest over decades. At the same time, administrative burdens and the risk of errors increase with every new apportionment, calculation, and reporting requirement,” said Mirjam Philipp, executive director of the Association of Saxon Housing Cooperatives. 

Associations Call for Fair Burden Sharing

According to Philipp, the responsibility for costs and factors that housing companies have little or no influence over must not fall solely on landlords. “The heating transition requires a fair distribution of the burden among the government, the energy sector, landlords, and tenants, and it must also remain affordable for people.” 

Call for the introduction of a climate allowance

According to Florian Gräßler, executive director of the Association of Municipal Enterprises, social policy measures to cushion the impact are crucial for the acceptance of the energy transition. Government subsidies for district heating could stabilize and lower prices. He also advocated for the introduction of a climate allowance to reduce rising costs for households. 

Philipp illustrated the increase in CO2 costs using the example of a 60-square-meter rental apartment. Currently, this amounts to 66 euros per year for natural gas and 241 euros for district heating. In a hypothetical worst-case scenario, this could rise to as much as 147 euros (natural gas) and 526 euros by 2028. 

High Proportion of District Heating in Saxony

Alexander Müller, head of the Association of the Housing and Real Estate Industry (VDW), clarified that in Saxony’s major cities, more than 90 percent of apartments are already supplied with district heating, while outside these cities the figure is about 65 percent. As a result, any price fluctuation immediately becomes a matter of housing costs.

In conclusion, the associations outlined their demands. Federal subsidies for energy-efficient buildings and heating networks must be permanently and adequately funded. Changes to the subsidy program require advance notice. The goal is to make district heating more attractive. Furthermore, the aim is to distribute the burdens fairly. Costs, administrative burdens, and liability risks should not be shifted unilaterally onto tenants, landlords, or energy providers.