Building: What will become of the heating law?

It was one of the biggest excitement of the legislative period that will soon be over: the heating law. What’s next after the Bundestag election? The voices are increasing at least for a fundamental revision of the building energy law, as it is officially called. In coalition negotiations there is a threat of hard struggle.

SPD strives for revision

The SPD wants to undergo a “practical”, de-bureaucratizing and formulating where it is possible without endangering the goal, said Verena Hubertz, deputy SPD parliamentary group leader. The opposite must be amended to implement a European directive on the efficiency of buildings anyway.

The SPD parliamentary group is behind the heating law. “The upstream municipal heat planning in combination with extensive, socially balanced funding makes the switch to renewable heating feasible for the breadth of society.” Minister of construction Klara Geywitz (SPD) had already spoken out for a fundamental gestor reform. The law had to be made “much, much” easier.

The Union is in favor of a basic change of course. “We throw off the backpack of the over-regulation, which the traffic light has packed on the building energy network with its heating law,” said Andreas Jung, deputy chairman of the CDU and the union political spokesman and energy policy spokesman. “There is only a new dynamic with new trust. For the way to climate-neutral warmth, we therefore rely on clear framework conditions: gradually CO2 pricing with social compensation, reliable support and a technology open to technology.”

The CDU wants to give a “simple message”, so young. “The new heating must be able to be operated climate -friendly – and there are different ways for this: heat pump and heating networks as well as sustainable wood pellets, solar thermal, geothermal energy or green gases.” There will be further support for the installation of climate -friendly heating – but without inequalities by the “back door of the funding rules”. With revenue of the CO2 prize for heat and traffic, the Union wants to reduce electricity tax and network charges in a first quick step. A climate field has also been in the political debate for a long time.

How the FDP stands for the law

The FDP had implemented significant changes to the original plans at the time. Now the election program says: “Freedom in the heating cellar.” Instead of countless individual regulations, the FDP relies on a market economy solution, the CO2 certificate trade. “The heating law with its excessive requirements must expire completely.” In order to cushion the social costs of climate protection, the FDP wants to introduce a “climate dividend” and drastically lower the energy control. The FDP rejects a “compulsion” to connect to district heating networks. “Heating with wood remains possible with us, we want to reduce requirements for fireplaces and stoves.”

Greens want to continue course

Minister of Economic Affairs and Greens Chancellor candidate Robert Habeck, who was heavily criticized because of the heating law, wants to hold on to his course. The election program says: “We continue the energy and heat transition.” The support for the installation of modern climate -friendly heating such as the heat pump should be expanded.

The Greens want to pay a large part of the income from the CO2 prize as a socially staggered climate field of people with low and medium-sized incomes.

The new building energy network has been in force since the beginning of 2024. This was preceded by long and hard negotiations within the traffic light coalition. The goal is more climate protection in the building area. In the housing stock, three quarters of households are still heating with gas or oil. A switch to more climate-friendly heaters such as heat pumps should also bring cost savings in the long run due to the increasing CO2 price. Functioning heating can continue to be operated.

The law generally stipulates that 65 percent of every newly built heating must be operated with renewable energies from 2024. However, this initially applies to new buildings in a new development area. There are transition periods for existing buildings and new buildings outside of new development areas. The linchpin is a municipal heat planning. It should be available in large cities from mid -2026 and for the remaining municipalities from mid -2028. House owners should then have clarity whether they are connected to a district heating network, for example, or whether they should take care of their own decentralized solutions for a new heater – for example, a heat pump. In the event that gas or oil heating has to be completely replaced because it can no longer be repaired, there are several years of transition periods.

Associations: Make law more practical

There was a lot of criticism from the start at the new building energy network because there are many small -scale regulations. The Federal Association of the German Heating Industry demands that the law must be designed more clearly and practical for people. The complex regulations would be perceived by many consumers.

The federal government’s goals for installing new heat pumps were not achieved, significantly fewer new devices were sold than expected last year. However, the State Funding Bank KfW has been showing significantly more inquiries about government funding since the end of 2024.