From March 1st, millions of households can benefit from the gas price brake and district heating brake. At the same time, the federal states are starting to reimburse the additional costs for heating oil, pellets and liquid gas from 2022. FOCUS online says how tenants make payments and what applies to you.
Millions of households can benefit from the gas, district heating and electricity price brake from March 1st. Then the federal states will also start paying out refunds for heating oil, pellets and liquid gas orders from the previous year.
The price brakes are easy to explain: a price cap applies to 80 percent of the previous year’s consumption.
The state pays the difference. For everything that households consume in excess of this 80 percent of the previous year, the energy prices that the energy supplier has contractually fixed apply.
Households that heat with heating oil, pellets or liquid gas can hope for a refund of up to 2000 euros. Funding is capped and tied to certain criteria set by the federal states themselves. It is important that those affected bought expensive heating oil, pellets or liquid gas in the previous year and can prove this accordingly.
In addition to the application, households must submit the invoice from 2022 and later also proof of payment.
It is important for tenants whether they have their own floor heating system or whether they are connected to a central heating system in the house. With your own heating, you benefit directly from the price brakes for gas, electricity or district heating. Ideally, it might be worth looking for a new provider to save on costs. Tariffs are currently falling, especially for basic services.
If rental apartments are connected to a central heating system, the landlord is responsible. In this case, the affected households have to wait and see.
The energy consumption for hot water or heating is included in the ancillary costs. Tenants make an advance payment and pay a fixed monthly installment. It is not until the annual statement that you can see whether you have paid too much or too little compared to your actual energy consumption.
The amount of the advance payment is usually determined with the year-end statement – and owners have until December 31, 2024 for 2023.
The situation is different with the electricity price brake. Tenants generally benefit directly from the electricity price brake if they have their own electricity contract.
FOCUS online advises: Get in touch with your landlord and let them pass on your current deduction for gas, electricity or district heating. The landlord is legally obliged to do so. This way you can at least estimate whether you will benefit from price controls (gas, district heating).
Basically, it is not advisable to lower the haircut. Prices are still above pre-crisis levels. If the discount is lowered, a hefty back payment could follow.
If residential buildings meet the criteria to benefit from the heating oil, pellets or liquid gas refund, the owner must take care of this. He has to sign the affidavit and submit the application. He then passes the reimbursement on to the tenant via the end-of-year statement.
Also read: “Hydraulic balancing” – mandatory for many households! This is how you save on the heating check
