The Left parliamentary group in the Bundestag is demanding the establishment of a legal maximum temperature for residential properties, setting the limit at 26 degrees Celsius. They further propose that if a flat exceeds this temperature for several consecutive days and lacks adequate heat protection measures, this must be recognized as a valid ground for rent reduction.
This proposal is part of a five-point plan for enhanced heat protection. The group suggests that if indoor temperatures rise above 30 degrees Celsius for multiple days, a correspondingly higher level of rent reduction should be possible. The Left views these measures as necessary leverage to compel landlords to implement sensible heat protection strategies.
Vice faction member Violetta Bock told the “Tagesspiegel” that extreme heat is not merely a natural disaster affecting everyone equally; certain groups suffer disproportionately. Older people, the homeless, schoolchildren, and residents of social institutions are particularly vulnerable. Since those with less money are less able to protect themselves, the group stressed the urgency for society to act, contrasting this with the federal government’s perceived inaction in making living spaces heat-proof.
In addition to regulating tenant rights, the Left wants to prevent landlords from raising rents through energy-saving and climate adaptation renovations. Specifically, densely inhabited, heat-stressed neighborhoods should receive targeted renovations to permanently protect apartments from overheating. However, they demand that the costs of these renovations not be passed on to tenants. The demands include that rehabilitated properties must remain affordable in the long term and be subject to clear rent caps and social binding agreements. Furthermore, if public funds are used for such renovations and climate adaptation, the resulting rents must be guaranteed to be affordable, without excessively high modernization surcharges.
