Landlord Duties 2027: 3 Changes in Munich Few Landlords Know About

Nearly every Munich landlord now knows about the 31 December 2026 operating cost deadline. Less known are two changes taking effect at the same time that reach much deeper into daily property management: the monthly consumption report (UVI) and the tightened CO2 cost split. Both apply to almost every landlord with central heating in Germany — and both become binding on 1 January 2027 with no transition period.

What actually changes in 2027

From January 2027, the monthly consumption report (UVI) for heating and hot water becomes mandatory for nearly every landlord in Munich with central heating, provided meters were retrofitted to remote-reading by 31 December 2026 (§6a Heizkostenverordnung). At the same time, CO2 cost-sharing tightens: for buildings with poor energy performance — from 52 kg CO2 per square metre per year — the landlord already bears 95 percent of CO2 costs. Both duties run in parallel with the well-known operating cost deadline in 2026/27, and landlords who overlook them risk double rework and unnecessary fines.

From January 2027, the monthly consumption report for heating and hot water becomes mandatory for practically every landlord with central heating — no exceptions. Anyone who misses the remote-reading retrofit deadline of 31 December 2026 can no longer meet this duty once it applies.

In practical terms for owners in Munich and across Bavaria: since 2022, only landlords with already remote-readable meters had to report consumption monthly. From 2027 that restriction disappears — the duty applies nationwide in Germany, because by 31 December 2026 all heating and hot water meters must be retrofitted to remote reading anyway. Landlords who delay the retrofit fall behind twice: first on the technical deadline, then on the information duty owed to tenants.

For CO2 cost-sharing, the 10-tier model under the CO2 Cost Allocation Act (CO2KostAufG) has applied since 2023: the worse a building's energy performance, the higher the landlord's share of the CO2 levy. Below 12 kg CO2 per square metre, tenants pay the full levy; from 52 kg CO2 per square metre, landlords bear 95 percent. The 2026 CO2 price corridor sits at €55–65 per tonne, moving to a fixed €68 per tonne later — so the absolute amounts keep rising, and allocation mistakes carry increasingly higher stakes.

Both duties apply nationwide and independently of a possible tenancy law reform (Mietrechtspaket II), which Germany's federal justice minister outlined in early 2026 and which could come into force at the earliest in autumn 2026 or 2027. They should therefore already be locked into your own deadline plan, regardless of what else changes in German tenancy law.

The underestimated liability risk: smoke detectors and legionella testing

While the UVI and CO2 cost-sharing are new duties, smoke detector and legionella testing obligations are among the oldest landlord duties of all — and are still routinely forgotten because they don't make headlines every year.

Smoke detectors: maintenance liability stays with the landlord

Maintenance liability for smoke detectors generally rests with the owner or landlord under both civil and criminal law — even where a state building code formally assigns maintenance to the tenant. Such state-level rules cannot override federal liability law under the BGB, since German states cannot amend federal tenancy and liability law. If a fire causes injury because a smoke detector was not properly maintained, authorities investigate the landlord — in the worst case for negligent bodily harm or homicide. Building insurers may also reduce payouts if the lack of maintenance is judged to be gross negligence.

Legionella testing: every three years, without being asked

For buildings with at least three units, central hot water heating, and more than 400 litres of storage volume or more than 3 litres of pipe volume between the water heater and the last outlet, legionella testing under §14b(4) of the Trinkwasserverordnung must be carried out proactively at least every three years — not only when requested by the health authority. Since 2023, the maximum permitted value is 99 CFU per 100 ml. Missing the test risks fines of up to €25,000; where tenants suffer proven health harm, the Infektionsschutzgesetz can additionally apply, carrying prison sentences of up to two years.

Both duties share one thing: without complete documentation, it's nearly impossible to prove in a dispute or damage claim that testing happened on time. Landlords looking to professionalise this kind of compliance documentation will find support at mHomes' property optimisation service.

The deadline you already know

Alongside the UVI, CO2 cost-sharing and testing obligations runs the year's most familiar deadline: the 2025 operating cost statement must reach tenants by 31 December 2026 at the latest (§556(3) BGB) — or landlords lose their right to back-charges. Since mHomes has already published a full checklist on this, we won't repeat it here. For all mandatory content, recoverable costs and common mistakes, see Nebenkostenabrechnung 2025: Checklist & Deadline for Munich Landlords.

The flip side: missed opportunities in Munich's letting season

As much as compliance deadlines dominate the conversation, Munich in 2026/27 also offers concrete letting opportunities that landlords with furnished units regularly overlook, simply because they sit in the events calendar rather than the deadline calendar. Oktoberfest runs from 19 September to 4 October 2026 and drives demand for short-term furnished housing across Munich. Just days later, from 5 to 7 October 2026, EXPO REAL takes place — one of Europe's largest property trade fairs, drawing international guests actively searching for furnished accommodation near the venue. Landlords who don't know these windows or react too late leave predictable extra income on the table, while attention stays fixed exclusively on statutory duties.

Every deadline in one place — the Landlord Calendar 2026/27

UVI duty, CO2 cost-sharing, legionella testing, operating cost statements, property tax dates, and Munich events like Oktoberfest or EXPO REAL — that's six different deadline sources a landlord would otherwise have to track in parallel. So that none of it slips through the cracks of a forgotten calendar entry, mHomes has bundled all of it into a single, free calendar: the Landlord Calendar 2026/27.

The calendar bundles 52 dates for Munich landlords across six categories: exclusion deadlines (including the 2025 operating cost statement and CO2 cost-sharing), property tax and finance dates, monthly duties (including the monthly UVI from January 2027), Munich events such as Oktoberfest, Tollwood and EXPO REAL, relevant trade fairs such as BAU 2027 and MIM München, and compliance documents such as energy certificate expiry, annual smoke detector checks and legionella testing. Once imported, every date appears automatically in your phone's calendar — with reminders up to two weeks in advance.

Beyond deadlines, daily admin work costs plenty of time too — tenant emails, document review, rent increase letters. 10 AI Prompts for Landlords has ready-to-use prompts for ChatGPT, Claude and other AI tools that turn these exact tasks from hours into seconds.

Frequently asked questions

This article is for general information purposes and does not constitute individual legal advice. For specific questions, we recommend consulting a solicitor specialising in tenancy law. All information refers to the current legal position in Germany and Bavaria (as at: August 2026).