The German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) has criticized the delays surrounding the building modernization law, which is intended to replace the current heating law. Although the federal government had announced a draft law by Easter, reports from T-Online indicate that the coalition partners are still negotiating, with concerns over tenant protection being a sticking point.
Stefan Körzell, a managing board member of the DGB, is now pressing for clarity, stating to T-Online that the heating law requires two things: rapid planning certainty for the skilled trades and the heating industry, alongside effective tenant protection. He added that the federal government must prevent landlords from installing economically unviable heating systems.
For these reasons, the DGB supports the demands of the Tenants’ Association and the Consumer Advice Center for implementing a “relative heating cost cap” which would limit costs to the level of an efficient heat pump.