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The German CO₂ cost split between landlord and tenant
Since 2023 the landlord bears part of the carbon price. How the ten-step model works and how to check your heating statement.
Germany has charged a carbon price on fossil fuels since 2021. It sits inside the gas price, the heating-oil price and many district-heating bills. Until the end of 2022 tenants paid all of it. Since 1 January 2023 it is split between landlord and tenant — and the split depends on how poorly the building performs energetically. This guide explains the model and what to check. It covers residential tenancies in Germany and is not individual legal advice.
The legal basis
The Kohlendioxidkostenaufteilungsgesetz (CO2KostAufG) governs how the costs arising from the national fuel emissions trading scheme are shared. For residential buildings a ten-step model applies: the higher the building's specific carbon emissions per square metre of living space per year, the larger the landlord's share.
The idea is an incentive. A landlord who lets a poorly insulated building should carry part of the climate cost and therefore have a reason to improve it.
The ten steps
Classification is by carbon emissions in kilograms per square metre of living space per year. In the lowest step — below 12 kg — the tenant bears 100 percent and the landlord nothing. In the highest step — 52 kg and above — the tenant bears 5 percent and the landlord 95 percent.
In between the landlord's share rises in ten-percent increments: 12 to under 17 kg — 10 percent; 17 to under 22 kg — 20 percent; 22 to under 27 kg — 30 percent; 27 to under 32 kg — 40 percent; 32 to under 37 kg — 50 percent; 37 to under 42 kg — 60 percent; 42 to under 47 kg — 70 percent; 47 to under 52 kg — 80 percent. For non-residential buildings an equal split applies for the time being.
What your statement must show
The statement should contain the information needed for the classification: the fuel delivered in the billing period, the associated emissions in kilograms, the resulting value per square metre and year, the resulting step, the total carbon costs, and the share attributable to the landlord.
If those figures are missing, the split cannot be checked. That is a concrete and easily worded objection: "Please show the CO₂ costs, the building's specific emission value and the resulting step under the CO2KostAufG separately."
Where the figures come from
The data on fuel quantity and emissions come from the energy supplier. Invoices for gas, heating oil and district heating must contain the information needed for the classification. In practice the metering service does the calculation and shows the landlord's share in the heating statement.
If your statement was produced by a smaller manager in-house, the split is missing particularly often. Ask for the supplier's invoice, which carries the emission data.
A worked example
A block of flats with 1,000 m² of living space burns gas producing 38,000 kilograms of carbon dioxide in the billing year. The specific value is therefore 38 kg per square metre per year, which falls in the step with a 60 percent landlord share.
If the carbon costs contained in the gas price amount to €2,400 for the building, the landlord bears €1,440 and the tenants together €960. For a 70 m² flat that is roughly €67 instead of €168. Exactly that relief should be visible in your statement, either as a deduction from the heating costs or as a separate line.
If the split is missing
If you receive a statement for a period from 2023 onwards with no carbon split at all, although the building is heated with gas, oil or district heating, that is a defect. The statute provides that you may in that case reduce the share of the heating costs attributable to you. Quantify the objection and ask for a corrected statement.
In practice it is sensible to ask for the figures first. Often they exist and were simply not shown, and the point can be settled without a dispute.
Heat pumps and electricity
The national emissions trading scheme covers fuels such as natural gas, heating oil and LPG. Electricity is not covered. If your building is heated by a heat pump, there are generally no carbon costs under this act — and nothing to split.
For district heating it depends on the generation mix. The supplier states the emissions; district heat from biomass or waste heat can have a very low value.
Exceptions
The act provides relief for landlords where public-law requirements prevent an energy improvement — for example listed-building protection or a compulsory connection to a district-heating network. The landlord's share can then be halved or fall away. Such exceptions must be substantiated.
Ask for the concrete reasoning with the provision relied on. A general reference to "heritage restrictions" is not a sufficient explanation.
What else the value tells you
The specific emission value says something about the energy condition of your building. A value above 47 kg per square metre per year points to a largely unmodernised building. That matters to you twice over: your heating costs will stay high, and the landlord's share of the carbon price rises with every increase in that price.
If you are thinking about your consumption anyway, the value is a useful starting point for a conversation. It comes from the statement, so both sides have it — unlike estimates from an energy certificate that may be years old.
How to check your statement
Look for "CO₂", "Kohlendioxid", "Emissionen" or "CO2KostAufG". Note the emission value shown, the step and the landlord's share, and check that the share matches the step. Compare the value with the previous year; large jumps without building work need explaining.
Read on and check your own bill
For the basics of the heating statement, see heating costs 70/30. For what may be charged at all, see which heating costs are recoverable, and for context on amounts, average service charges per square metre.
To see whether your statement shows the carbon split, upload it to the free check and compare the items that were read out.