Status: 15.01.2024, 16:39 PM
By: Marco Blanco Ucles
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A lot will change for tenants in 2024 as well. We reveal in which areas you have to be prepared for additional costs and where you can benefit.
With the expiry of the electricity and gas price brake at the end of 2023, the electricity tariff is likely to increase again for the majority of tenants, even if there are tricks to save money. Another change: The VAT rate on household energy will rise again to 2024 percent from March 19, previously it had been reduced to seven percent in the meantime. In addition, heating with oil and gas will become more expensive from 30 to 45 euros per tonne of CO₂ due to the increased CO₂ price on fossil fuels.
President of the German Tenants' Association fears considerable additional costs for consumers
Also negative for tenants' wallets is the cancellation of the state subsidy for higher grid fees for electricity. Lukas Siebenkotten, President of the German Tenants' Association, emphasizes: "Already in the heating cost bills from 2022, many households had to struggle with additional payments in the four-digit range despite energy price brakes. On top of these already significantly higher heating costs, the changes will add another three-digit amounts."
One in three tenant households is already financially overburdened.
Lukas Siebenkotten, President of the German Tenants' Association
Siebenkotten is even more explicit: "One in three tenant households is already financially overburdened. The federal government urgently needs to make adjustments, otherwise tenants are threatened with evictions due to very high heating costs." For this reason, the German Tenants' Association is calling for the introduction of a moratorium on evictions to ensure that tenants are not evicted due to sharply increased heating costs.
It was hoped that the German government's new construction offensive would improve the German housing market. But the project has stalled considerably. According to Focus, increased mortgage interest rates, expensive new buildings and staff shortages are the reasons for this. This circumstance, coupled with the continuing increase in the population in Germany, is likely to contribute to the further increase in rents.
In 2024, tenants will again have to adjust to some changes. © Hanno Bode/IMAGO
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But there is still good news for tenants: In the future, landlords and homeowners' associations will no longer be able to prohibit the installation of balcony power plants. Tenants are allowed to feed 800 watts into the grid, previously it was 600 watts. In addition, they can use solar systems with up to 2000 watts. Unlike in the past, they no longer have to report their devices to the market master data register, but only to the network operator.
You can find out how to make provisions for the future, what supplies and utensils you should have at home in case of an emergency and how you can easily take care of yourself with the help of your garden – you can find out all this in the Merkur.de pension newsletter.
Changes to cable fees will apply from July 2024
July 1, 2024 is the legal deadline for landlords to pass on cable fees to ancillary costs. As a result, many apartment owners will terminate their cable contracts. Not necessarily a disadvantage for the tenants. Many of them used other ways to receive television anyway and also paid for the cable contracts through the ancillary costs. Find out in good time whether a cable contract is urgently needed for your TV consumption. On its homepage, the consumer advice centre warns against sometimes dubious representatives at the front door who try to sell people an overpriced and unnecessary contract - caution is advised.
On 1 January, the new Building Energy Act came into force, bringing with it new regulations. This means that sooner or later, landlords will have to equip their property with an efficient and climate-friendly heating system. You are allowed to pass on some of the costs indirectly to your tenants via a rent increase. In principle, eight percent of the modernization costs may be allocated to the annual rent. Ten percent of the remaining costs are used if subsidies are used.
You can find everything you need to know about household and gardening tips in the living newsletter of our partner Merkur.de.
On the positive side for tenants, landlords are allowed to increase the rent by a maximum of 50 cents per square metre per month after replacing the heating system. With an apartment size of 60 square meters, the additional costs for the tenant would amount to 30 euros per month.
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