CO₂ cost split between landlord and tenant in Germany
Enter consumption, floor area and fuel: the calculator finds the tier under the CO₂ Cost Allocation Act and splits the CO₂ cost between tenant and landlord.
Worked through by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
Landlord’s share
€67.35
40 % of €168.37; the tenant pays €101.02
| CO₂ per m² a year | 31.1 kg |
|---|---|
| Rule | Tier model |
| Tenant | 60 % · €101.02 |
| Landlord | 40 % · €67.35 |
Step-by-step calculation
- 12,000 kWh give 2,177 kg CO₂; divided by 70 m² that is 31.1 kg per m² a year (section 5(1), one decimal).
- CO₂ cost estimated at €65 per tonne with VAT: €168.37. The amount on the fuel bill is what counts.
- Tier under the annex: 31.1 kg CO₂ per m²: tenant 60 %, landlord 40 %.
Estimate under the funding guideline and the law as of October 2026, not advice. Only the bank’s grant approval is binding. How we calculate
In Germany the CO₂ cost of heating with gas or oil is split between tenant and landlord under the CO₂ Cost Allocation Act (Kohlendioxidkostenaufteilungsgesetz, CO2KostAufG). What counts is how much CO₂ the flat produces per square metre of floor area each year, rounded to one decimal. Below 12 kg the tenant pays everything; from 52 kg the landlord pays 95 %, with ten tiers in all. A 70 m² flat using 12,000 kWh of gas a year comes to 31.1 kg per m². At €65 per tonne, the 2026 auction average, plus VAT, that is about €168 of CO₂ cost, of which the landlord pays 40 %, or €67. A 90 m² oil-heated flat using 1,800 litres reaches 53.5 kg, and the landlord pays €354 of €373. A listed building or a conservation area halves the landlord’s share. If a new gas or oil boiler goes in after 29 July 2026, the cost is split in half from 2028.
How the law splits the cost
The CO₂ Cost Allocation Act shares the cost according to the state of the building: the more CO₂ a flat produces per square metre, the more the landlord pays (CO2KostAufG). The idea is that tenants control how they heat, landlords control insulation and the heating system.
| kg CO₂ per m² a year | Tenant | Landlord |
|---|---|---|
| below 12 | 100 % | 0 % |
| 12 to under 17 | 90 % | 10 % |
| 17 to under 22 | 80 % | 20 % |
| 22 to under 27 | 70 % | 30 % |
| 27 to under 32 | 60 % | 40 % |
| 32 to under 37 | 50 % | 50 % |
| 37 to under 42 | 40 % | 60 % |
| 42 to under 47 | 30 % | 70 % |
| 47 to under 52 | 20 % | 80 % |
| 52 or more | 5 % | 95 % |
The calculator derives the CO₂ amount from consumption with the official emission factors (EBeV 2030, Annex 2). It estimates the CO₂ cost with a price per tonne, preset to €65, the average of the 2026 auctions (German Emissions Trading Authority). If your fuel bill shows the CO₂ amount, enter it: it beats any estimate.
Three flats, three results
| Flat | kg per m² | CO₂ cost | Landlord | Tenant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gas, 70 m², 12,000 kWh | 31.1 | €168 | 40 % · €67 | €101 |
| Gas, renovated, 80 m², 6,000 kWh | 13.6 | €84 | 10 % · €8 | €76 |
| Oil, 90 m², 1,800 litres | 53.5 | €373 | 95 % · €354 | €19 |
The renovated flat stays just inside the second tier, so the landlord pays almost nothing. The oil flat is the opposite: heating oil emits more CO₂ per kilowatt hour than gas and lands in the top tier. How the CO₂ price translates into each litre of oil is under CO₂ price on heating oil, the cost for a whole household in the CO₂ tax calculator. What CO₂ may cost from 2027 is under CO₂ price 2027; the 2027 corridor has passed the Bundestag but has not yet been promulgated.
CO₂ cost in 2026, 2027 and after
2027, passed, not in force
€237 to €281
| 2026 (55 to 65 €/t) | €237 to €281 |
| Your 2028 scenario (€100/t) | €432 |
VAT included. There is no fixed price for 2028: the value is your assumption.
Special cases in the calculator
Under “Special cases” you can set three rules. A listed building, compulsory connection to a heat network or a conservation area (Milieuschutz) halves the landlord’s share under section 9; if both kinds of renovation are blocked, there is no split at all, and the landlord must prove the restriction. Commercial premises are split in half under section 8. For a gas or oil boiler installed after 29 July 2026 under section 43 of the Building Modernisation Act (section 43 GModG), both pay half from 2028, so the calculator applies that rule for the year 2028. What else applies to new gas boilers is under gas boiler ban. Landlords weighing a new system will find the funding under heating grant for landlords.