Heating oil, liquid gas or wood pellets – anyone who runs their heating system with certain energy sources can be entitled to so-called “hardship aid for non-connected energy sources”. The federal government is providing a total of 1.8 billion euros for this, which will be awarded to the citizens via the federal states. Of this, around 280 million euros are available for Bavaria. Citizens in Bavaria can decide in advance whether an application is worthwhile find out with an online calculator.
Who gets the hardship aid?
Residents of private households receive hardship assistance. It can only be applied for for one place of residence. If this is in Bavaria, the Free State is responsible for processing and payment. Anyone heating with fuel oil, LPG, wood pellets, woodchips, wood briquettes, logs or coal/coke purchased in 2022 may be eligible.
In Bavaria, around 1.4 million residential buildings are heated in this way, as reported by the Bavarian Ministry of Social Affairs at the request of BR24. If a household uses different energy sources to heat both with and without a line connection, an application would also be permissible, says Gisela Kienzle from the Bavarian consumer advice center: “Then only the oil cost subsidy will be taken into account.”
How much money is it?
Those eligible can receive between EUR 100 and EUR 2,000. It depends on the price at which you bought the energy sources mentioned in 2022 – and how much of it. The price paid must have been more than twice as high as a fixed, nationwide standard comparison value, the reference price. The delivery date must be between January 1st, 2022 and December 1st, 2022. In Bavaria, the order date can also apply if the order was placed within this period and was delivered by March 31, 2023 at the latest.
This means that anyone who paid up to twice as much in 2022 as it would have cost on average in 2021 (reference price) will not receive any help. Only what goes beyond that will be reimbursed at 80 percent. A maximum of 2,000 euros will be paid out. Aid below 100 euros will not be paid out.
The level of the reference values and the Onlinerechnerwith which citizens can determine whether they are entitled to a relief payment and in what amount, is offered by the Bavarian Ministry of Social Affairs on its website – applications should now also be able to be made there.
Who can apply?
The operators of the heating system are entitled to apply. If, for example, the heating in an apartment building is operated centrally by a landlord or a homeowners’ association (WEG), the tenants cannot submit the application themselves. Instead, the landlord or the WEG is responsible.
But: The money paid out belongs to the private households, so it has to be passed on to the residents.
Are there important deadlines?
In Bavaria, applications can be submitted from May 15th to October 20th, 2023. If the total of up to 1.8 billion euros in hardship aid nationwide has been exhausted, According to the Federal Ministry of Economics, hardship aid is no longer granted and get paid.
In Bavaria, it is currently expected that the federal funds made available will be sufficient, explains Bavaria’s Ministry of Social Affairs. “However, an exact prognosis cannot be made because we have no information on the prices and quantities at which the energy sources were purchased in Bavaria.” In any case, it shouldn’t hurt to submit an application as quickly as possible. Because, according to the Ministry of Social Affairs, the applications are processed after receipt, “so that the aid for earlier applications is generally paid out more quickly”.
What can tenants do?
But what to do if the landlord does not apply, even though the requirements are met? As a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Social Affairs explains, tenants may be able to assert civil claims against their landlords in this case.
Accordingly, the tenant could sue the landlord for damages after the deadline in October. Lawyer Sabine Gross from the Kronach tenants’ association sees little chance of success in legal action: “I would have to be able to quantify the damage. And in civil law, I would also have to advance the court costs. Who does that?”. Gross sees the legislator as having a duty to make improvements: “We have a loophole in the regulations.”