Munich tenants rejoice: repayments on heating costs of up to 10,000 euros!

Munich tenants rejoice: repayments on heating costs of up to 10,000 euros!

Today is a day of relief for many renters in Munich. As Mayor Dieter Reiter announced, many of the heating cost bills sent by Münchner Wohnen urgently need to be corrected. In the last few months, many tenants, especially those on Wintersteinstrasse and Fortnerstrasse, have received demands for back payments, some of which run into the thousands. The additional payments are often unfounded because it turns out that they are due to incorrect billing.

The muenchen.t-online.de reports that some tenants can get up to 10,000 euros back. Reiter, who has been chairman of the supervisory board of Münchner Wohnen since the end of June 2025, apologized on behalf of the affected tenants and called for all open questions about the excessive utility bills to be clarified quickly.

High heating costs are a problem

The high heating costs have several causes. There are reports of gas supply contracts that are strongly linked to rising stock market prices. This 2022 development has led to a drastic increase in costs. In addition, a technical review found that the combination of outdated single-pipe heating systems from the 1970s and modern building insulation caused extreme heat losses. Tenant Bettina L. said that she had received back payments of several thousand euros. The tz.de notes that Christian Schwarzenberger from the Left had already pointed out this problem in 2024.

Reiter has instructed Münchner Wohnen to check all technical systems in order to identify the cause of the high heating costs. He emphasized that tenants should no longer be burdened unjustifiably and called for a fair billing procedure that complies with rental law.

Future outlook

What happens next? The necessary repayments should be processed quickly and unbureaucratically. Reiter announced that repayments would be necessary for several years because central heat meters were often missing in residential complexes. These have been mandatory since 2014 and would have distributed heating costs more fairly.

Finally, it appears that the situation for many tenants in Munich is tense, but could take a positive turn thanks to the announced repayments and the official apology from the mayor. Tenant Gabriele G. and other people affected are very happy about the review and the apology.

These developments show how important it is to draw attention to such grievances and to ensure fair treatment of tenants. Even though there are still some hurdles to overcome, there is a clear direction to take.