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German tenant groups see sharp increase in people who can't pay utility bills

The Local (news@thelocal.com)
The Local ([email protected])
German tenant groups see sharp increase in people who can't pay utility bills
A birds-eye view of Munich city centre. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Sina Schuldt

Many tenants in Germany are worried about winter as they face rising energy bills and possible rent increases. Tenant groups say they've seen a huge increase in requests for help. Some politicians are pushing for more protections, but little action has been taken so far.

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Over the last few weeks, Germany's Mieterverein - or tenants' associations, say they've been getting a flood of assistance requests from renters who've seen their utility bills double or even triple.

Recent studies bear that out, with one report charting the most dramatic rise in utility costs since records began in 2005.

Those increases mean many tenants may not be able to pay their Nebenkosten - the additional costs, like electricity and gas, that come on top of Kaltmiete, or the ‘cold rent’ that comes before variable costs like utilities are factored in.

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That's hitting particularly hard in already expensive German cities.

"Many tenants in Frankfurt am Main already had to spend 40 to 50 percent of their net household income on rent even before the energy crisis," says Rolf Janßen from DMB Mieterschutzverein Frankfurt am Main. "Further increases in heating an operating costs are simply unaffordable for most tenants."

Dr. Rolf Bosse, the chair of Hamburg Tenants' Association, told The Local he expects the problem to get worse. That's because many tenants are only settling 2021 bills now, and will not be on the hook until 2023, when many bills for this year's increases become due. The increases are making an already existing problem worse for renters in Germany, he added. 

"Tenants are now having to spend an increasing portion of their net income on housing costs. In extreme cases, this is at 60 percent now," he said. "On average this was already 35 percent, which is economically unhealthy to start with. Now, people lack the financial leeway to absorb these cost increases."

READ ALSO: German households see record hikes in heating costs

Are politicians pushing for more protections?

Canan Bayram, a directly elected Green MP from Berlin, is calling on the Scholz government to toughen up protection for renters ahead of winter.

Speaking to The Local ahead of the annual Green conference on Friday, Bayram, whose party governs with Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats and the liberal Free Democrats, is calling for a moratorium on evictions lasting at least a year.

“In this way, we can take away tenant fears that they may be thrown out onto the street if they can’t pay these increased costs. It should also be in place to help protect small commercial tenants and social organisations,” she says.

In addition to a cap on the price of gas, Bayram also wants a six-month suspension on increases in base rents (known as Kaltmiete in Germany) for tenants in tight housing markets, such as Berlin’s.

Woman turns up thermostat

A woman turns on the heating in her flat. The cost of utilities such as heating have risen significantly in recent months. Photo: picture alliance / dpa | Ole Spata

The capital has already announced a moratorium on evictions applying to tenants living in city-owned housing. That prevents these tenants from being thrown out if they can't pay their utility costs.

It will initially run for six months and the Mayor's Office is encouraging private landlords to follow suit.

Federal Association of German Housing and Real Estate Companies (GdW) Axel Gedaschko said in September that anyone living in a flat owned by one of the GdW’s 3,000 member companies—some 13 million people—wouldn’t get thrown out this winter if they weren’t able to pay their utility costs.

READ ALSO: Tenants in Germany need eviction protections during energy crisis, says housing boss

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He then called on the Scholz government to put such a moratorium in place nationwide.

The federal government has put together another €200 billion relief package which will include some sort of Gaspreisdeckel—or a cap on the price of gas.

Although the federal government’s packages include one-off payments for heating for those on housing benefits and an energy relief payment of up to €300, there are currently no specific national measures to freeze rents or prevent evictions.

What can renters do?

Although it may only help to make a small dent in the problem, Dr. Bosse advises anyone struggling with ancillary costs to contact their local tenant association or Mietverein.

He says the Hamburg association, which he chairs, has already reviewed some utility bills renters have sent them and found mistakes. Spotting these have often saved the tenants sending them some money.

In addition, people receiving support from a German jobcentre may be able to get some increased housing assistance, as a utility bill qualifies as a housing cost.

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