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I have been a renter for most of my adult life and I own several apartments that I would argue are "reasonably managed" and I am not aware that a landlord (in G

by tfourb 4y ago

I have been a renter for most of my adult life and I own several apartments that I would argue are "reasonably managed" and I am not aware that a landlord (in Germany) can prevent tenants from "leeching" heat from neighboring apartments. A renter usually has to guarantee a reasonable minimum temperature in the apartment, as well as regular fresh air, both to prevent mold. But the level of heating required for this is way below 20°C. Also: I'm pretty sure that in most reasonable scenarios not heating one apartment in a house that has a decent outer layer of insulation would overall reduce energy input, because the overall average temperature would decline and heat would propagate more efficiently between apartments than to the outside. But I'm no expert so what do I know.

avh02 4y ago
Where I am, the heating costs include a shared portion for this reason... you can turn your heating completely off and still pay 1/3 or 2/3 of a regular bill (don't remember) as the building's "shared" heating costs. That also means if you turn on your heating, you add to both your bill and some of the shared costs others pay. I live in a modern, well insulated building as the grandparent comment. I haven't run the heat for years, we need to occasionally open the windows cos it gets too warm and stale obviously, i don't think it makes sense to force me to turn on the heat even more and open the window even more. edit: this was more a mix of reply to the parent comment and a bit to yours, sorry got it in the wrong spot.