Saving energy in the face of a possible gas cut from Russia is already causing much debate and reaction in Germany, as property management companies reveal their plans to curb consumption.
Germany’s largest real estate company Vonovia has announced that in its buildings with a central heating system the temperature will be limited to 17 degrees from 23:00 to 06:00. During the day the heating will work normally, while the measure does not affect the supply of hot water. Vonovia has around 490,000 apartments across the country, of which around half have a central heating system. The relevant adjustment will be made in the buildings during the regular maintenance carried out before the start of the heating season and it is estimated that it will ensure a saving of 8%. In the letter that Vonovia has started to send to its customers, it is characteristically stated: “As responsible owners, we want to contribute, for the good of the environment and your wallet. That is why today, as part of routine maintenance, we adjusted the thermostat so that between 23:00 and 06:00 the temperature should be limited to 17 degrees”. The company speaks of “transparent communication” with the tenants of its properties.
According to the newspaper BILD, the real estate company Deutsche Wohnen, which has 150,000 apartments, is considering similar plans, however, it also ruled out the possibility of limiting the supply of hot water.
In Saxony, the housing association Dippoldiswalde, which represents about 100 apartments, decided to cut off the water supply at certain times in order to reduce energy costs for tenants, prompting strong reactions, even from the federal Minister of Construction, Clara Gewitz, which stated that a homeowner’s association is not allowed to shut off the hot water to its tenants. “It’s just illegal,” he said. In a similar context, the Real Estate Tenants Association announced that the restriction of the supply of hot water is a reason for reducing the rent.
However, according to the Association of Real Estate Companies GdW, many companies in the sector are considering ways to save energy, as, as it emphasizes, the average cost price for all types of energy increased in May by 37% compared to the corresponding period of 2021. The increase corresponds to an additional cost of 508 euros per year for a one-person household. “Some of our members will face an existential risk. In this state of emergency, the state must meet its social responsibility,” GdW said in a statement and asked the government for emergency aid funds.
Regarding decisions like the one of the cooperative in Saxony, GdW notes that controlled interruptions in the hot water supply can only be an option if all tenants agree.
The Union of Real Estate Companies also warns of the risk of disruption of social peace due to the energy crisis. “The situation is more than dramatic and social peace in Germany is in huge danger,” he stresses, pointing out that the simultaneous rise in interest rates also means an increase in the cost of building new housing, making it unfeasible to build more apartments that could reduce the pressure on rents.
However, the chairman of independent rental property owners Haus und Grund Kai Warnecke told BILD that independent landlords will normally fulfill their obligation to provide heating and hot water to their tenants and do not intend to take unilateral measures.
From the tenants’ side, the first reactions are already noticeable. The president of the Tenants Association in North Rhine-Westphalia Hans-Jochem Witschke told the first channel of German public television ARD that decisions like Vonovia’s to limit the temperature to 17 degrees at night are “not allowed”. There are, he said, many court decisions that require the owner to keep the temperature of the residence at least 20 degrees, while not being allowed to predetermine how warm a residence will be. And according to the Tenant Protection Agency, every person has a different perception of temperature, e.g. infants and the elderly need more warmth, and many people work night or rotating shifts. It remains unclear whether it is considered constitutionally acceptable to separate tenants between those who live in apartments with central heating and those in buildings with an autonomous system.
Source: AMPE
Source: Capital
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