Project
DeGeb
Heating buildings accounts for a significant proportion of CO2 emissions. However, the impact of more sustainable options such as renewable energies depends on the extent to which they are chosen by property owners and tenants - and thus ultimately on the underlying regulatory framework and incentives. DeGeb therefore investigates how different legal forms influence individual decisions and how they affect the overall economy in terms of decarbonising the building heat sector.
Update on the project's process
A mix of instruments that achieves decarbonisation in a socially balanced way was developed and presented on 10.06.2021 in the study "Towards climate neutrality in the buildings sector". Furthermore, two publications on resolving the tenant-landlord dilemma were published. One of them addresses the issue in the German context, while the other analyses it at EU level, in the context of an ETS extension.
In view of the landlord-tenant dilemma, the CO2 price should be borne at least proportionally by the landlord in order to provide modernisation incentives, if not a complete warm rent system should be introduced.
The cause-effect relationship between modernisation levies in tenancy law and subsidies for energy efficiency was investigated and it was shown by model theory that subsidies provide an incentive for landlords to invest more in energy efficiency, precisely because subsidies have to be deducted from the modernisation rent increase.
Main Findings
- The housing stock is sluggish (long time horizon, high investment costs, private owners).
- The housing stock is heterogeneous in terms of condition (different refurbishment requirements), owners (different preferences, landlord-tenant dilemma), and local factors (rent index, craft capacities, ...).
- Targeted subsidies, a high and sensibly distributed CO2 price, and a reform of the accounting of service charges are promising policy approaches.
Flagship Paper
Agora Energiewende (2021):
Ein Gebäudekonsens für Klimaneutralität - 10 Eckpunkte wie wir bezahlbaren Wohnraum und Klimaneutralität 2045 zusammen erreichen. Agora Energiewende Impuls.
Agora Energiewende, Universität Kassel (2021):
CO₂ Emissions Trading in Buildings and the Landlord-Tenant Dilemma : How to solve it. Agora Energiewende Impulse.
Agora Energiewende, Universität Kassel (2020):
Wie passen Mieterschutz und Klimaschutz unter einen Hut ? Agora Energiewende Impuls.