As of: February 2, 2024, 2:36 p.m
By: Marco Blanco Ucles
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A lot will change for tenants in 2024.
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 cap at the end of 2023, the electricity tariff for the majority of tenants is likely to increase again, although there are tricks to save money.
Another change: The VAT rate on household energy will rise again to 19 percent from March 2024; it had previously been reduced to seven percent.
In addition, heating with oil and gas is becoming more expensive due to the increased CO₂ price on fossil fuels from 30 to 45 euros per ton of CO₂.
President of the German Tenants' Association fears significant additional costs for consumers
Also negative for tenants' wallets is the cancellation of the state subsidy for higher network fees for electricity.
Lukas Siebenkotten, President of the German Tenants' Association, emphasizes: “Many households were already struggling with additional payments in the four-digit range for their heating bills from 2022, despite energy price caps.
The changes will add three-digit amounts to these already significantly higher heating costs.”
One in three renter households is already financially overburdened.
Lukas Siebenkotten, President of the German Tenants' Association
Siebenkotten is even clearer: “One in three tenant households is already financially overburdened.
The federal government must urgently take action, otherwise tenants will be threatened with termination due to very high heating costs." That is why the German Tenants' Association is calling for the introduction of a moratorium on terminations, which is intended to ensure that tenants are not evicted due to sharply increased heating costs.
It was hoped that the German housing market would improve through the federal government's new construction offensive.
But the project has stalled significantly.
According to
Focus
, the reasons for this are increased mortgage interest rates, expensive new buildings and a lack of staff.
This circumstance, coupled with the increasing population in Germany, is likely to contribute to a further increase in rents.
Tenants will have to adapt to some changes again in 2024.
© Hanno Bode/IMAGO
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But there is still good news for tenants: the installation of balcony power plants can no longer be banned by landlords and homeowners' associations in the future.
Tenants are allowed to feed 800 watts into the grid, previously it was 600 watts.
You can also use solar systems with up to 2000 watts.
Unlike before, you no longer have to report your devices to the market master data register, but only to the network operator.
How you can prepare for the future, what supplies and utensils you should have at home in an emergency and how you can easily take care of yourself using your garden - you can find out all this in the Merkur.de precautionary newsletter.
Changes to cable fees will apply from July 2024
The legal deadline for landlords to pass on cable fees to additional costs expires on July 1, 2024.
As a result, many homeowners will cancel 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 additional costs.
Find out in good time whether a cable contract is urgently necessary for your television viewing.
The consumer advice center warns on its homepage about sometimes dubious representatives at the door of the apartment who try to sell people an overpriced and unnecessary contract - caution is advised.
The new Building Energy Act came into force on January 1st, bringing with it new regulations.
This means: Sooner or later, landlords will have to equip their property with efficient and climate-friendly heating.
You can pass on some of the costs indirectly to your tenants through a rent increase.
In principle, eight percent of the modernization costs can be allocated to the annual rent.
It is ten percent of the remaining costs if subsidies are used.
You can find everything about household and garden tips in the living newsletter from our partner Merkur.de.
Positive for tenants: Landlords are allowed to increase the rent by a maximum of 50 cents per square meter per month after replacing the heating system.
For an apartment size of 60 square meters, the additional costs for the tenant would be 30 euros per month.
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