Operating costs

Operating-cost statements under the HeizkostenV: how are heating costs allocated?

Reading time 8 min · Updated 05.07.2026

Under § 7 (1) of the German Heating Costs Ordinance (HeizkostenV), 50 to 70 % of heating and hot-water costs must be allocated by consumption; the remaining 30 to 50 % (“base costs”) are allocated by living or usable area. The landlord sets the exact consumption share (e.g. 70 %). If there is no consumption-based billing at all, the tenant may reduce their heating share by 15 % (§ 12 (1) HeizkostenV).

Key facts at a glance

§ 7 (1) HeizkostenV: 50–70 % of heating costs by consumption, the rest (base costs) by area.
The landlord picks the consumption share (50, 60 or 70 %) — 70 % consumption / 30 % base is common.
Hot-water costs must be metered separately with central heating (§ 9 HeizkostenV).
Missing meters: substitute procedure under § 9a (prior year, comparable rooms or area).
Without consumption-based billing: the tenant may reduce by 15 % (§ 12 (1) HeizkostenV).

Base costs and consumption costs: the mandatory split

The HeizkostenV bars a pure area-based allocation of heating and hot-water costs. Instead the billable block is split in two: base costs (30–50 %), allocated by living area, and consumption costs (50–70 %), allocated by each unit’s metered heat or hot-water use. The landlord chooses the consumption share within that range; 70 % consumption / 30 % base is standard and is expressly required for certain systems (§ 7 (1) sentence 2).

Worked example: €8,000 heating costs, 70/30 key

Block	Amount	Allocation
Base costs (30 %)	€2,400	by area (320 m²) = €7.50/m²
Consumption costs (70 %)	€5,600	by metered use (kWh / m³)

Separating hot water and the substitute procedure

For a combined system, the hot-water share must be separated under § 9 (heat meter or statutory formula). If a unit’s consumption cannot be read, it is estimated under § 9a from comparable rooms, the prior year or the building average — only the affected share, not the whole statement.

The tenant’s 15 % reduction right (§ 12)

If the landlord bills contrary to the HeizkostenV — i.e. not by consumption — the tenant may reduce their heating and hot-water share by a flat 15 % (§ 12 (1)), regardless of any actual loss and not excludable by contract.

How Torch Real Estate solves this

Torch Real Estate builds the HeizkostenV split in: base and consumption costs are separated to the cent at your chosen share (50–70 %), missing meters fall back to § 9a automatically, and the app flags § 12 when consumption data is absent — ending in a ready-to-send PDF per tenant.

See operating-cost billing

Frequently asked questions

Which allocation key is mandatory for heating costs?+

Between 50 and 70 % of heating and hot-water costs must be allocated by consumption (§ 7 (1) HeizkostenV). The remainder (base costs) is allocated by living or usable area. The landlord sets the consumption share within that range; 70 % consumption / 30 % base is common.

When may a tenant reduce heating costs by 15 %?+

If billing is not consumption-based — e.g. because meters are missing or costs were allocated entirely by area — the tenant may reduce their share of heating and hot-water costs by 15 % (§ 12 (1) HeizkostenV), regardless of any actual loss.

Must hot-water costs be billed separately?+

Yes. For a combined system producing heating and hot water together, the hot-water share must be separated per § 9 HeizkostenV (using the statutory formula or a heat meter) and allocated separately.

What if a meter has failed?+

If a unit's consumption cannot be read, it is estimated under the substitute procedure of § 9a: from comparable rooms, the prior year or the building average. Only the affected share is estimated, not the whole statement.