German Tenants Face Heatwave Without Protection
· news
Heat, Housing, and Hypocrisy in Germany’s Tenancy Law
The recent heat wave that swept through Europe has left a trail of devastation in its wake, but nowhere is the issue more pressing than in Germany. Here, tenants are being left to bear the brunt of sweltering temperatures.
Darya’s story is all too common. She returned from her Turkish holiday to find her apartment a blistering 31°C (87.8°F) despite outside temperatures reaching a scorching 39°C. While Germans have long been accustomed to protecting themselves against the cold, their tenancy agreements offer little respite from the heat.
The EU’s climate monitor ‘Copernicus’ has confirmed that June 2026 was the hottest June on record in western Europe and the second hottest globally. The data reveals a staggering estimated 5,120 heat-related deaths recorded in Germany so far this year. In contrast to the strict temperature controls for winter, there is no mention of summer temperature targets in most tenancy agreements. This is a glaring oversight, especially considering that over half of all people living in Germany rent their homes – the highest proportion in the EU.
The fact that tenants have no right to cooling is not just a matter of bureaucratic oversight but a product of outdated law. As lawyer Michael Selk pointed out, residential tenants do have a right to sufficiently warm rooms (20–24°C), but this was established with temperatures in mind that are far lower than those we see today.
The Building Energy Act requires buildings to be designed to limit overheating in summer, but the reality is that 75% of Germany’s housing stock was built before 1990. Many landlords are under no obligation to meet modern standards. The courts have ruled in favor of tenants who won property defect cases related to heat protection, but these victories are few and far between.
Climate researcher Trinidad Fernandez has highlighted the need for proactive measures to prevent summer overheating rather than relying on emergency responses. This would involve incorporating active and passive cooling into building design, which would require significant investment from both government and private sectors. Financing remains a major concern for landlords and real estate associations.
The German Basic Law guarantees every person’s right to physical integrity, but this seems to be more of an afterthought than a guiding principle in tenancy law. Fernandez astutely pointed out that moving from emergency response to prevention by design is crucial not just for protecting tenants’ health but also for ensuring that buildings and neighborhoods are designed with the needs of their occupants in mind.
As temperatures continue to rise, the issue of heat protection has become increasingly pressing. It’s high time that German lawmakers take concrete steps to address this problem, providing clear temperature standards and financial support to landlords and building owners. Anything less would be a dereliction of duty, particularly given the scale of heat-related deaths in recent years.
Darya’s story illustrates all too well that the status quo is no longer tenable. It’s time for policymakers to put words into action and turn their attention to the pressing issue of heat protection in rented properties.
Reader Views
- EKEditor K. Wells · editor
It's high time Germany's tenancy laws caught up with climate reality. The EU's heat wave data is staggering, and yet the country's tenancy agreements remain woefully inadequate. But what about existing buildings? Simply retrofitting old housing stock won't solve the problem. We need a fundamental rethink of property development regulations to ensure new builds can withstand extreme temperatures. Until then, tenants will continue to bear the brunt of inaction.
- CMColumnist M. Reid · opinion columnist
The heat wave is just one symptom of a more insidious problem: Germany's outdated tenancy law has tenants caught in a sweltering limbo. While we focus on temperature targets for winter, the reality is that most buildings were designed to conserve warmth, not cool. The government needs to urgently update building codes and regulations to reflect modern climate conditions – but it's also essential to empower tenants with more flexible lease options that allow them to negotiate cooling measures. Until then, Darya and thousands of others will remain at the mercy of landlords who are often more concerned with profit than people.
- CSCorrespondent S. Tan · field correspondent
The lack of adequate cooling measures in German tenancy agreements is not just a failure of legislation but also a symptom of a broader societal inertia. While lawmakers focus on retrofitting buildings to meet energy efficiency standards, they neglect the immediate needs of tenants struggling with sweltering temperatures. It's time for policy makers to address the heat wave crisis head-on by revisiting outdated regulations and incorporating summer temperature targets into tenancy agreements. This isn't about creating new burdens for landlords but recognizing the changing climate reality and protecting public health.