GWH Housing Promise protects tenants from dismissals

Tenants generally pay an advance payment for heating their apartment, which GWH passes on to the energy suppliers.
Consumption is calculated once a year as part of the utility bill and settled with the tenants.
Due to the energy crisis, energy prices, especially for gas, have risen sharply. A further increase is to be expected.

According to current forecasts, the current price hikes will result in considerable additional costs for our tenants.

We at GWH therefore see it as our responsibility to anticipate the expected high additional claims for the billing years 2022 and 2023 in your own interest. By increasing your monthly advance payment for heating costs, we are counteracting high additional claims, which can quickly become a debt trap. We hope to accommodate you with this step and enable you to plan better. At the same time, we would like to raise your awareness of the need to use all our resources responsibly. In addition, we will also adjust the advance payments as part of the utility bills depending on consumer behavior.

This adjustment is not a rent increase, but a preventive measure taking into account current energy prices, i.e. higher advance payments reduce the likelihood of high additional payment claims.

The utility bill will be sent to you by the end of the twelfth month after the end of the billing period at the latest. With us, the billing period runs from 01.01. to 31.12. of a year. Even if you moved out on 31.01.2022, for example, you will not receive your statement until the period 01.01.2023 - 31.12.2023.

In addition to adjusting the advance payment, you can reduce your own heat consumption. For example, you can heat more moderately and use less hot water. We have put together many more tips on saving energy, which you can find here: Energy saving tips

If you wish, you can adjust your advance payments individually at any time. Please feel free to contact us via the usual channels.

Due to the recent sharp rise in energy costs, the advance payments may only cover part of the costs incurred, depending on your consumption, so that in many cases it must be expected that additional payments will be made for the current billing period 2022. We therefore recommend that you build up reserves for this.

Contact us immediately so that we can find a solution together. If you are demonstrably experiencing unusual hardship due to high back payments, we can agree installment payments, for example. With the GWH Housing Promise, GWH rules out terminations due to non-payment of service charges or advance payments. You therefore do not have to worry about losing your home due to increased energy prices. With this promise, GWH stands by its tenants in the current difficult market situation. In this case, please contact us immediately at Wohnversprechen@gwh.de

Please also make use of possible support services: Check whether you are entitled to housing benefit or whether you can receive other transfer benefits. You can find a housing benefit calculator and further information here: www.wohngeldrechner.org

If you have financial problems, you can also take advantage of online advice offered by debt advice centers. You can find more information here: www.schuldenhelpline.de

If it becomes apparent that financial difficulties are imminent and you are no longer able to pay the advance payments, please contact us immediately. Together we will find a solution. You can agree an installment payment to pay off the amount of the service charge bill.
With the GWH Housing Promise, GWH rules out terminations due to non-payment of service charges or advance payments. You therefore do not have to worry about losing your apartment due to increased energy prices. With this promise, GWH stands by its tenants in the current difficult market situation. In this case, please contact us immediately at Wohnversprechen@gwh.de

In this context, please also make use of other possible offers of support: Check whether you are entitled to housing benefit or whether you can receive other transfer benefits. You can find a housing benefit calculator and further information here: www.wohngeldrechner.org

If you have financial problems, you can also take advantage of online advice offered by debt advice centers. You can find more information here: www.schuldenhelpline.de

Please contact your responsible contact person at the Jobcenter directly.

Supplies to private households are currently secure. However, the situation is serious and there is no guarantee that the security of supply will continue throughout the winter.
By declaring a gas alert, the German government has sent a clear signal to all consumers - industry, public institutions and private households alike - to further reduce gas consumption as a precautionary measure. The Federal Government will improve the framework conditions for energy efficiency and also make savings itself.

In the case of gas supply, household customers, district heating suppliers and hospitals, among others, are considered protected customers. This means that their supply is generally guaranteed even in the event of a gas shortage. However, due to technical circumstances, it cannot be ruled out that household customers - i.e. you - may also experience outages in the event of a gas shortage. Please note the current information in the media. If, contrary to expectations, outages become more likely, we will inform you in good time as far as possible.

You can find your heating type on your last utility bill.

Compared to the previous year, oil prices have already more than doubled. You will feel the effects of this in particular when you receive your utility bill in 2023. A significant proportion of district heating is also generated from gas and oil, so the price increases will also have an impact here.

According to experts, this cannot be completely ruled out, especially if the increased use of fan heaters and radiators leads to overloads in the mains. Therefore, please use such appliances with caution. Heating with electricity is also very expensive, especially as electricity prices have risen sharply recently and are expected to continue to rise.

Yes, one of our main suppliers - Germany's largest gas group Uniper SE - is affected. According to the Federal Network Agency, it is currently not foreseeable whether a gas shortage will occur. It is therefore completely open whether GWH properties will be affected.

We currently assume that the energy suppliers will inform us of an impending gas outage with a short lead time of one to two days.
To ensure this, we are currently building up a network of contacts with suppliers and local authorities so that we can inform you locally in good time about possible outages and appropriate emergency measures.
You can also use this website to find out about the latest developments on a regular basis.

The age of the instantaneous water heater is not decisive. Important: Set a temperature on the instantaneous water heater that is comfortable for you. If you find your hot water too hot, then the temperature setting on your instantaneous water heater is too high!

It is very important to us that stairwells are safe and secure. For this reason, the stairwell lighting is always switched on a little longer than you might need it. Please bear in mind that other residents may need a little longer than you. This is part of our duty of care, which we must comply with.

Thermostats regulate the heating power depending on the room temperature. If large pieces of furniture such as a sofa or cupboard are too close to the radiator, the air cannot circulate properly and heat builds up. The temperature sensor then registers a temperature that is much higher than the room temperature and the thermostatic valve closes. As a result, the room is no longer heated. Therefore, make sure that the radiator remains as free as possible.

Due to the current high prices on the market and the unpredictable price trend, GWH purchases its requirements on a monthly basis in order to be as close to the market as possible and not be tied to long contract periods or price agreements in volatile times like these. In view of the suppliers' risk calculations and a possible gas price cap, we act responsibly in the interests of our tenants in this way and hope to achieve financial benefits through this additional expenditure.

GWH has put together a flyer with useful information for you.

You are also welcome to use the tips on "Saving energy as a tenant" at www.verbraucherzentrale-energieberatung.de

Caritas also offers publicly funded energy-saving advice for households receiving transfer payments (unemployment benefit, social assistance, housing benefit, etc.). The advice is free of charge and takes place in the tenants' homes if they wish. It can also take place by telephone or online. You can find further information at: https://www.stromspar-check.de/

GWH also regularly provides information about tips and tricks for saving energy on its Instagram channel. 

No, this does not make sense. Heating with electricity is the most expensive option. Not only does this significantly increase your electricity bill, it also puts a strain on the public electricity grid.

Set the thermostat on the radiator so that a room temperature of 20° C is set in the living rooms. To do this, turn the control to a setting between level 2 and 3. 18° C is sufficient in the bedroom; you can achieve this with level 2.
Do not switch off the heating when you leave the home or use rooms infrequently. A permanent temperature of around 16 to 17° C consumes less heating energy than if you completely reheat the room because it has cooled down completely. To ensure that our radiators heat in an energy-saving manner, they should not be covered by furniture or curtains.

No, the heating does not have to be turned up fully. Thermostats regulate automatically depending on the room temperature. Turn the control to a setting between level 2 and 3 so that a room temperature of 20° C is set in the living rooms. In the bedroom, 18° C (level 2) is sufficient.

Ventilate all rooms two to four times a day for five to ten minutes: Turn the thermostatic valve to zero and open the window fully. Then turn the radiators back on. Shock ventilation consumes little heating energy, but effectively exchanges the humid room air.
Continuous ventilation (tilt position) causes a lot of heating energy to be lost. Do not switch off the heating when you leave the home or use rooms infrequently. A permanent temperature of around 16 to 17° C consumes less heating energy than if you completely reheat the room because it has cooled down.

To remove moisture from the room air, you should ventilate all rooms - especially the bathroom and bedroom - intensively in the morning if possible. To do this, open the windows briefly but wide and close the thermostat valve on the radiator. You should repeat this "shock ventilation" two to four times a day for 5 to 10 minutes each time in the fall/winter. Avoid tilting the windows at all costs. The air is exchanged too slowly, the room walls cool down and moisture condenses, which can cause mold.
Heat all rooms in your home sufficiently and continuously above the dew point of approx. 16°C at 60% relative humidity. This also includes rooms that you do not use all the time or in which you prefer lower temperatures. The doors to these cooler rooms should remain closed, as the higher humidity from the air in warmer rooms will otherwise condense here.

GWH complies with the requirements of tenancy law to ensure the minimum room temperature. Within the scope of these possibilities, we will optimize the night-time reduction in the heating systems over the next few weeks, which applies between 10 pm and 6 am. The minimum room temperature will not fall below 18°C.

No. No measures are taken that affect the hot water temperature.

GWH has not lowered the heating temperatures as we have set our heating systems as optimally as possible for heating the property in order to avoid oversupply. Compared to previous years, this may mean that it takes a little longer for some apartments to reach their usual temperatures. At the same time, however, it ensures that the minimum temperatures guaranteed by us in the rental agreements can be reached by every tenant in the GWH apartments. 

As a rule, gas heating systems cannot be operated with other energy sources. Replacement involves high costs and is not immediately possible at all locations. Gas is currently more expensive than other energy sources, but in the past gas was comparatively the cheapest form of heating. This could also happen again in the future, so a changeover would not necessarily be associated with lower costs.

We strongly advise you not to do this, as non-professional intervention can result in water damage, for example. If GWH installs digital thermostats in the future, you will have to remove your thermostats again. You would also have to remove your thermostats when you move out and reinstall the previous ones. If you nevertheless decide to purchase smart thermostats, GWH will not contribute to the costs.

As GWH, we fundamentally welcome all efforts and measures that ensure more climate-friendly living and thus make a contribution to the energy transition. We are therefore looking into the possibility of implementing a general solution for the use of solar energy on our buildings. A comprehensive solution also avoids problems with regard to traffic safety, which is much more difficult to guarantee with individual systems.
For this reason, we do not wish to approve any individual solutions in our portfolio at this time.

As part of your tenancy agreement, you are obliged to keep the apartment at a temperature that prevents damage (e.g. mold or freezing water pipes).

Contact us immediately so that we can find a solution together. If you are demonstrably experiencing unusual hardship due to high back payments, we can agree installment payments, for example. With the GWH Housing Promise, GWH rules out terminations due to non-payment of service charges or advance payments. You therefore do not have to worry about losing your home due to increased energy prices. With this promise, GWH stands by its tenants in the current difficult market situation. In this case, please contact us immediately at Wohnversprechen@gwh.de

Please also make use of possible support services: Check whether you are entitled to housing benefit or whether you can receive other transfer benefits. You can find a housing benefit calculator and further information here: www.wohngeldrechner.org

If you have financial problems, you can also take advantage of online advice offered by debt advice centers. You can find more information here: www.schuldenhelpline.de

The advance payments can be increased voluntarily. The advance payments will also be increased with the next utility bill. We also recommend, if possible, putting money aside for this purpose and saving energy.

Unfortunately, we do not know how much higher the ancillary costs will be. We cannot predict future developments, so we cannot provide any reliable information. However, you can expect to pay around 30% more for heating this year than in 2021. Forecasts for 2023 predict that you will even have to pay twice as much as in 2021.

Please get in touch directly with your contact person at the relevant Jobcenter.

Even if you have a low income, you can apply for benefits from the Jobcenter. If you have a higher income and are still unable to pay the additional payment, please contact us immediately so that we can find a solution together: wohnversprechen@gwh.de

Please also make use of possible support services: Check whether you are entitled to housing benefit or whether you can receive other transfer benefits. You can find a housing benefit calculator and further information here: www.wohngeldrechner.org

If you have financial problems, you can also take advantage of online advice offered by debt counseling agencies. You can find more information here: https://www.schuldenhelpline.de/

No. In order to support its tenants in the current difficult market situation, GWH has launched the GWH Housing Promise. If you have difficulties paying your service charges or increased advance payments, we will find individual solutions to help you meet your outstanding debts, for example in the form of installment payments. GWH will not terminate your tenancy for non-payment of service charges. So you don't have to worry about losing your apartment due to the rise in energy prices.