Wegweiser Tenants · Housing rights Deutsch

🌡️ Heating costs and CO2 cost sharing

How heating costs are billed, when you may reduce them and how landlord and tenant share the CO2 price.

heating costs Heating Costs Ordinance CO2 costs tiered model right to reduce consumption-based energy

In brief

Heating and hot water must generally be billed according to consumption. If this is not done, you may reduce your share of the costs by 15 percent.

The state charges a CO2 price on oil and gas. Landlord and tenant must share these costs. How depends on the building's energy consumption: the worse the building, the more the landlord pays. In the worst case he bears 95 percent, in the best case 0 percent.

Check in the statement whether the CO2 cost share is shown and correctly split.

The twelve-month objection period after receipt also applies to heating cost statements.

Step by step

  1. Read the statementLook for consumption values, costs per unit and the CO2 cost share.
  2. Check the splitIs the CO2 price shared between landlord and tenant under the tiered model?
  3. Check the reductionWas billing not based on consumption? Then a right to reduce is possible.
  4. Objections on timeRaise objections in writing, at the latest twelve months after receipt of the statement.

Deadlines

15 percent
Right to reduce where billing is not consumption-based§ 12 Abs. 1 HeizkostenV
0 to 95 percent
Landlord's share of the CO2 costs in the tiered model (extreme values)§ 5 CO2KostAufG
12 months
Objection period from receipt of the statement§ 556 Abs. 3 BGB
Watch out – common mistakes
  • An additional reduction of 3 percent is possible if no remotely readable consumption metering is installed or information is missing (§ 12 HeizkostenV).
  • Where the tenant supplies their own heating, a separate classification applies (§ 5 Abs. 3 CO2KostAufG).
  • The exact intermediate tiers of the tiered model are in the annex to the CO2KostAufG; not checked in detail.
  • Wohngeld includes a heating cost and climate component (see the Wohngeld page).
In depth · legal basis, figures and practice – for advisers and professionals

Right to reduce, § 12 HeizkostenV

Insofar as the costs of supplying heat or hot water are not billed by consumption contrary to the provisions of the ordinance, the user has the right to reduce the share attributable to him by 15 percent. In addition he can reduce by 3 percent if the building owner has not installed remotely readable consumption metering equipment, and by a further 3 percent if required information is not provided or is incomplete. The provision does not apply to condominium owners in relation to the community.

CO2 cost sharing, § 5 CO2KostAufG

The building's specific carbon dioxide emissions in kilograms of CO2 per square metre of living space per year are determined and assigned to a tier of the annex. At the highest emissions the landlord bears 95 percent and the tenant 5 percent; at the lowest emissions the tenant bears 100 percent. Where the tenant supplies their own heating, para. 3 applies. The intermediate tiers follow from the annex to the Act.

Relationship to the operating cost statement

Heating costs are operating costs under § 2 BetrKV. For the statement and the objection periods, § 556 Abs. 3 BGB applies.

Who is responsible
  • Tenants' association (Mieterverein, check of the heating cost statement)
  • Verbraucherzentrale (consumer advice centre, energy advice)
  • Local court (Amtsgericht, in a dispute)
Further reading
Service charge statementHousing benefit (Wohngeld) for tenants

Quick questions

Worum geht es bei „Heating costs and CO2 cost sharing“?
How heating costs are billed, when you may reduce them and how landlord and tenant share the CO2 price.
Which deadlines and figures matter?
  • 15 percent: Right to reduce where billing is not consumption-based (§ 12 Abs. 1 HeizkostenV)
  • 0 to 95 percent: Landlord's share of the CO2 costs in the tiered model (extreme values) (§ 5 CO2KostAufG)
  • 12 months: Objection period from receipt of the statement (§ 556 Abs. 3 BGB)
What should I do first?
  • Read the statement: Look for consumption values, costs per unit and the CO2 cost share.
  • Check the split: Is the CO2 price shared between landlord and tenant under the tiered model?
  • Check the reduction: Was billing not based on consumption? Then a right to reduce is possible.
What do I need to watch out for?
  • An additional reduction of 3 percent is possible if no remotely readable consumption metering is installed or information is missing (§ 12 HeizkostenV).
  • Where the tenant supplies their own heating, a separate classification applies (§ 5 Abs. 3 CO2KostAufG).
  • The exact intermediate tiers of the tiered model are in the annex to the CO2KostAufG; not checked in detail.
Evidence
  • Bundesministerium der Justiz, Gesetze im Internet, § 12 HeizkostenV, retrieved 20 September 2026
  • Bundesministerium der Justiz, Gesetze im Internet, § 5 CO2KostAufG, retrieved 20 September 2026
  • Bundesministerium der Justiz, Gesetze im Internet, § 556 BGB and § 2 BetrKV, retrieved 20 September 2026
As of

September 2026 · Sources and method

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