Heating bill worries many Berlin tenants
Heating costs are an increasing problem for many tenants in Berlin. The tenants' association already observed this trend last year. However, it is continuing even more clearly: "We had a total of 14,551 consultations on heating bills in 2022. This year, there were already 13,049 before the end of the year," Managing Director Wibke Werner told Deutsche Presse-Agentur. This compares to 9213 in 2020 and 7866 in the previous year.
Additional claims for many tenants
In the experience of the tenants' association, tenants are faced with high additional claims for many bills from the past year. "This is usually due to the sharp rise in energy prices, while in most cases consumption has not changed significantly compared to the previous year," said Werner.
In some cases, it has even fallen. "On the one hand, this may be due to the relatively mild winter of 2022/23, but it may also be an indication that tenants have severely restricted their consumption due to warnings about rising energy prices and concerns about the threat of high additional claims for heating bills."
The situation remains tense from the tenants' point of view, said Werner. "The fact that energy prices are no longer rising quite so sharply is of little use to tenants at the moment." Such developments will only become apparent with a time lag in the next bill.
Consumers have a lot to look forward to
"At the moment, high cost burdens are coming together for various reasons - such as the continuing high inflation, high food costs, frequent price adjustments by various providers from post to electricity to telephone and, in some cases, high additional claims from heating bills."
It is not unlikely that some tenants will reach the limits of their financial capacity, said Werner. "Politicians are needed here. A first step would be the extension of the energy and gas price brake, which has been discussed but not yet decided."
- The rising energy prices are causing significant additional claims on heating bills for many Berlin tenants, leading to financial stress.
- With the sharp increase in energy prices, consumers are facing high costs for both gas and electricity, affecting their living expenses, including rent and real estate.
- The high cost burdens, including energy prices, inflation, and frequent price adjustments from various providers, are putting a strain on the household budgets of many consumers.
- As energy prices have not decreased yet, the situation remains tense for tenants, and they look forward to politicians intervening and extending the energy and gas price brake.
Source: www.dpa.com
