CO2 costs: how much must your landlord pay?
Three figures from your heating statement are enough: the building’s CO2 emissions, its floor area and your CO2 costs.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
Landlord bears
€28.50
You bear €66.50
| CO2 per m² per year | 25.0 kg |
| Step in the annex | 4 / 10 |
| Tenant share | 70 % |
| Landlord share | 30 % |
If the heating statement lacks the split, the tenant may cut his heating share by 3 per cent (Section 7(4) CO2KostAufG).
How we calculateSince 2023, tenants and landlords in Germany share the cost of the CO2 price on heating and hot water under a ten-step model set out in the Carbon Cost Allocation Act (Kohlendioxidkostenaufteilungsgesetz, CO2KostAufG). The worse the building, the more the landlord pays: below 12 kilograms of CO2 per square metre of floor area a year the tenant pays everything, from 52 kilograms only 5 per cent. The landlord must work out the emissions with the heating statement, round them to one decimal and state the step. Example: a building with 960 m² of floor area emitted 24,000.0 kg of CO2, 25.0 kg per square metre. That is step 4: the tenant bears 70 %, the landlord 30 %. Of your flat's €95 CO2 costs the landlord covers €28.50. If the statement lacks the split, you may cut your heating share by 3 %. The CO2 price was 55 euros a tonne in 2025; for 2026 a corridor of 55 to 65 euros applies.
The ten-step model
| kg CO2 per m² a year | tenant share | landlord share |
|---|---|---|
| below 12 | 100 % | 0 % |
| 12 – 17 | 90 % | 10 % |
| 17 – 22 | 80 % | 20 % |
| 22 – 27 | 70 % | 30 % |
| 27 – 32 | 60 % | 40 % |
| 32 – 37 | 50 % | 50 % |
| 37 – 42 | 40 % | 60 % |
| 42 – 47 | 30 % | 70 % |
| 47 – 52 | 20 % | 80 % |
| 52 or more | 5 % | 95 % |
The calculator divides the building's emissions by its floor area, rounds to one decimal as Section 5 CO2KostAufG requires, and looks up the step in the annex. It multiplies your CO2 costs before the split by the landlord's share. You choose the reduction under Section 9 yourself if the statement relies on listed status, a connection duty or a conservation by-law.
When the split is missing
If the landlord does not work out your share or the statement lacks the details, you may cut your share of the heating costs by three per cent (Section 7(4) CO2KostAufG). This comes on top of the deduction rights in the Heating Costs Ordinance explained on the heating statement page. The CO2 price itself follows from Section 10 of the Fuel Emissions Trading Act: 45 euros a tonne in 2024, 55 euros in 2025, and in 2026 certificates are auctioned within a corridor of 55 to 65 euros.