Overview
- Under the Wärmeplanungsgesetz, municipalities with more than 100,000 residents must finalize heat plans by June 30, 2026, after which installers may no longer fit new heating systems that run purely on fossil natural gas in those jurisdictions.
- States are publicizing which cities are affected, including Frankfurt, Wiesbaden, Kassel and Darmstadt in Hesse; Hannover, Braunschweig, Oldenburg, Osnabrück, Wolfsburg, Göttingen, Salzgitter and Hildesheim in Lower Saxony; and Munich, Nuremberg, Augsburg, Regensburg, Ingolstadt, Würzburg, Fürth and Erlangen in Bavaria.
- Smaller municipalities generally have until June 30, 2028 to complete heat plans, though any town that finishes earlier triggers the local restriction sooner.
- Existing boilers are not immediately banned, repairs remain allowed, and replacements must meet rising renewable shares starting in 2029—15 percent in 2029, 30 percent in 2035, 60 percent in 2040 and 100 percent in 2045—with hardship and network-access exceptions available.
- Funding programs include a 30 percent base subsidy for heat pumps with additional income-related and early-switch bonuses that can raise support to as much as 70 percent, while multifamily buildings can replace a failed unit short term and may have up to 13 years to complete a full conversion after a breakdown.