According to an announcement by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), approximately 3.8 million people in Germany lived in 2025 in households that had outstanding utility bills from providers such as electricity or gas companies. This represented 4.6 percent of the total population. This figure marks a slight decrease compared to the previous year, when 5.0 percent of the population had payment arrears for utility bills in 2024.
Leaseholders were particularly affected by the inability to cover these essential bills. While 3.3 percent of people living in owner-occupied households had debt with utility providers last year, that proportion rose significantly for tenants, reaching 5.8 percent.
Furthermore, additional operational costs, such as supplementary charges and arrears, place a financial burden on many tenants. Costs for ancillary housing services have recently increased slightly above the average rate; in August 2026, these costs were 3.1 percent higher than in the month prior. For context, overall consumer prices rose by 2.9 percent in the same period. Ancillary housing costs encompass various expenses, including water supply, waste removal, building maintenance, elevator servicing, and other related expenditures.
Conversely, consumers have recently seen a reduction in the cost of household energy for their homes. Prices for energy sources such as electricity, gas, heating oil, district heating, or solid fuels (like wood and coal) were 0.7 percent lower in August 2026 compared to the previous year. However, during the energy crisis, household energy prices surged dramatically, especially in 2022, and remain generally elevated.
