Replacing the heater: “legal right”

As t-online reports citing the Berliner Morgenpost newspaper, Julian Schwark, chimney sweep and board member of the Federal Association of Chimney Sweeps, knows that a tenant can also request underfloor heating as part of a heating exchange.

“If a landlord installs a heat pump and wants to pass it on to the rent, it must operate with at least an annual performance factor of 2.5. To do this, the building must be adequately insulated. Alternatively, it is sufficient that the heating flow temperature can be reduced to a maximum of 55 degrees Celsius. The latter is only possible with surface heating,” says the expert.

“This means that the landlord has the legal right to install such heating if he wants to pass the costs on in full to the rent.”

That is the basis

The introduction of the GEG also implies the obligation to replace certain heating systems. As a result, among other things, interest in heat pumps has increased, especially in the area of ​​residential buildings. The reason: the systems are considered particularly efficient, environmentally friendly and future-proof.

However, for profitability it is important that the performance of the heat pump is optimally adapted to the building, which in turn should be renovated if possible. In this case, it is especially interesting to replace the room's radiators with surface heating systems, such as underfloor heating.

By the way: there are also statements in the opposite direction. A ruling of the Berlin Regional Court of May 17, 2018 (64 S 145/17) confirms that the Berlin tenants' association does not have to tolerate the installation of underfloor heating. This is the case, for example, if you cannot live in your apartment for more than three months due to renovation work.

Sources: t-online, openjur, internet laws

By Dana Neumann