Consumption certificate: New choice for all residential buildings (GModG)

Joost Jansky

Energy consultant, blogger

How to read this article: Start with today’s hurdle (Section 80 and WSchV77 evidence), continue with the removal from 2027, then the data regime under Section 82 — and finish with a decision aid geared to your building.

Today: Section 80 (3) GEG and the WSchV-1977 barrier

Selling, letting out, leasing or renewing matching contracts normally requires a valid energy certificate where none already exists (Section 80 (3) sentence 1 GEG). If the building application preceded 1977 and you operate fewer than five dwelling units, a special carve-out typically applies (below). Provided Section 82 is satisfied, you may ordinarily choose between a demand certificate and a consumption certificate.

For much of Germany’s residential stock, until 31 December 2026, Section 80 (3) sentence 2 GEG imposes another rule:

For residential buildings with fewer than five flats whose building application was filed before 1 November 1977, an energy demand certificate shall be issued.

A consumption certificate is available only where the dwelling already met — at completion — or was later upgraded to meet the insulation standard of the Thermal Insulation Ordinance of 11 August 1977 (Section 80 (3) sentence 3 GEG). Absent that proof — common for unmodernised estates with no archival evidence — the consumption pathway is barred.

Counter-intuitive though it feels, owners feel this personally: a five-unit multifamily dwelling with an application dated 1970 may opt for consumption; a four-unit terraced block from 1968 often may not, solely owing to the WSchV-1977 linkage, not the physical size ranking.

Rough estimates extrapolating from Census-based analyses (carried forward to 2020) put the combination under five dwellings and planning application prior to 1977 at roughly 8.5–9.9 million residential buildings — roughly half Germany’s dwelling stock (~19.6 million, dena Building Report 2024). How many presently cannot produce WSchV77 documentation is not recorded in administrative statistics; a two-digit-million share of the nationwide stock is realistically affected.

Important when interpreting your facts: application date differs from headline “year-of-construction” statistics (“pre-1978”). For marginal cases the filing date of the permit governs.

Who is affected?

Why proving WSchV77 compliance is difficult in practice

The ministerial notice detailing rules on consumption certificates lists three paths: legacy German Energy Saving Ordinance (EnEV) calculations, a mean λ-value following table 11, or component λ-values according to table 12. Without deed-room files or refurbishment evidence many owners stall — although metered consumption could, methodologically, fit their building.

The legislative intent was to block cases where inefficient fabric plus economical occupation paints a prettier picture than the demand-led route (dena handbook “Energy certificates” part 3). The regime targeted fair comparability of information, not a refurbishment mandate via the paperwork.

What changes with the GModG (Section 80 (3))

The watershed for residential dwellings sits in Section 80 (3) — not Section 82. With Article 2 of the promulgated amending act (Federal Law Gazette 2026 I No. 226), from 1 January 2027 the bespoke residential carve-out tethered to planning applications preceding November 1977 and the insulation ordinance disappears entirely. For purely residential buildings, mandatory trigger scenarios allow certificate choice — between Section 81 balancing methodology or recorded consumption pursuant to Section 82 — provided consumption prerequisites are honoured.

For non-residential buildings, Section 80 (3) sentence 2 from 2027 provides only for the certificate under Section 81 on transactions; the consumption certificate is ruled out there for new issuances. That is a different issue from your detached or terraced residential home.

The hub GModG proclaimed: the new energy certificate arrives on 1 January 2027 situates the whole reform package — classes, digital format, and stakeholders.

What drops out of the statutory text

When does the new law apply?

Caveat: Article 1 (including GEG→GModG renaming and heating reform) has applied since 29 July 2026. The certificate-focused revisions sit in Article 2 and take effect on 1 January 2027 — not “six months after promulgation” as the cabinet draft still foresaw. Until year-end 2026 the interim certificate provisions apply.

Relaxing Section 80 therefore widens issuance choice for purely residential buildings, while data and use discipline under Section 82 stay a discrete challenge.

Who benefits — and what does not change

Owners of detached homes and small multi-family houses (below five dwelling units) whose building application was filed before 1 November 1977, who lack reliable WSchV77 proof and who use the building exclusively for residential purposes stand to benefit most: the consumption certificate becomes legally selectable for the first time — but having it drawn up does not automatically become effortless.

With economical occupancy and an unretrofitted envelope, the consumption certificate often comes out cheaper on paper than the demand certificate. That may smooth sales and leases. Whether the route pays off still hinges on having consumption data, not solely on relaxing Section 80.

What does not change:

• Fabric minimums triggered by refurbishment (Sections 47 ff.) — the Section 80 removal addresses certificate type, not renovation law.
• Trigger events prescribing a refreshed certificate.
• Data rules: Section 82 is methodically updated and limited to exclusive residential use; there is no duty to supply 24 monthly values.

Climate targets and "black sheep" — avoid a misconception

In technical materials, unsanitised small older buildings without WSchV77 proof are occasionally called “black sheep” — an energy certificate category, not a climate priority list. Many are thermally weak stock; the existing building stock is central to sector climate targets (around 60 % of dwellings predate 1978, dena Building Report 2024).

The new barrier: consumption data under Section 82 (from 2027)

Deleting the WSchV77 anchor under Section 80 does not waive consumption data requirements. Whoever insists on consumption must from 2027 satisfy Section 82:

1. A building used exclusively for residential purposes (narrower than “residential building = predominantly”).
2. Annual, energy-carrier-differentiated consumption data over two years.
3. Most recent billing period no more than 18 months ago.

The cabinet draft still foresaw 24 monthly values and a 15-month recency limit — that did not become law. Practice questions on demand vs consumption and issuing before the cut-off are unpacked in Order a consumption certificate now — here merely the interplay with wiping the WSchV77 tie.

The practical hurdle: many homes today held back by the WSchV77 hurdle lack a clean carrier-split history — and with mixed use, Section 80 choice does not help because Section 82 bars the consumption route.

• Owner-occupied detached home without tenants: the Heating Costs Ordinance usually does not apply — annual bills and your own records remain decisive.
• Two-family house where the landlord occupies one unit: carve-out under Section 2 HeizkostenV.
• Apartment-level or decentralised heating: no central settlement for the whole building.
• Commercial share: even a small shop or practice → usually demand only from 2027.

Legal choice and whether a consumption certificate can actually be issued are not the same thing.

Example: 1968 terraced house — before and after

This is not a judgment of how you heat. Certificates provide information for purchase, sale, and lease — which is why “the WSchV77 barrier goes” is not the same as “a consumption certificate is ready immediately.”

Preparing consumption data without a billing service

Awaiting outsourced settlement reports is unnecessary: start gathering traceable annual consumption over two years, split by energy carrier. Helpful artefacts sit in Documents you need when commissioning an energy certificate.

Smart meters — usually electricity, not your heating fuel

In everyday language, “smart meter” means the intelligent metering system (iMS) for electricity. A consumption certificate needs consumption by energy carrier — and in many unretrofitted older homes that is gas, heating oil, or pellets, not household electricity. An electricity iMS does not replace a gas or oil meter.

Where an electricity iMS actually helps

• Direct electric heating, night storage: The electricity meter is the heating carrier.
• Heat pump: What matters is electricity for heat generation (ideally a dedicated heat-pump meter), not whole-house consumption alone.

From 1 January 2025, you can have an iMS installed upon request (MsbG § 30 (3)). For the statutory Section 82 duty from 2027, annual values normally suffice — a gapless monthly matrix is not prescribed. Monthly readings still help with plausibility and vacancy.

Gas, oil, and pellets — records without an electricity smart meter

Gas (most common in older stock)

1. Free: Keep annual bills and any supplier customer portal exports; store meter readings and photos as evidence.
2. Let, central gas heating: Section 6a HeizkostenV has required monthly consumption information since 2022 where remotely readable; non-remote devices must be retrofitted by 31 December 2026 (Section 5 HeizkostenV). That helps practice, but it is not the same as the former draft idea of a mandatory 24-month monthly series.

Heating oil and pellets

• Keep delivery notes, invoices and fill-level notes across two heating seasons.
• Optional: level sensor for ongoing documentation.

Manual logging still counts: A tidy overview with annual consumption and receipts is often the fastest, cheapest route; the issuer checks plausibility and completeness.

What you can do already

1. Check today’s barrier — building application, dwelling count, WSchV77 proof until 31 Dec 2026.
2. Exclusive residential use vs mixed use — decides consumption vs demand from 2027.
3. Secure annual two-year data — by energy carrier; most recent period ≤ 18 months.
4. Compare demand and consumption — calculate both in parallel if uncertain.
5. Plan for 1 January 2027 — new certificate type on re-issue.

Decision aid: demand, consumption, or Smart certificate?

Even perfect spreadsheets can fail at handover to the auditor — acceptable format, plausible figures, missing receipts. Align expectations early, not on the day of inspection.

FAQ

My house is from 1968, never retrofitted — can I get a consumption certificate today?

As a rule, no. If the building application predates 1 November 1977, you operate fewer than five dwellings, and you lack persuasive documentation of WSchV-1977 performance, Section 80 (3) requires only a demand certificate until 31 December 2026 (Section 80 (3) GEG).

And from 1 January 2027?

Legally, the consumption certificate becomes available once Article 2 applies — from 1 January 2027. In practice, only if the building is used exclusively for residential purposes and you can satisfy Section 82: annual consumption data over two years, split by energy carrier; most recent period no more than 18 months ago. The draft idea of “24 monthly values” did not become law.

Is a consumption certificate worth it with an unretrofitted envelope?

Often yes. If you heat sparingly in practice — the consumption certificate captures your actual usage; the demand certificate foregrounds weak fabric. Running both makes sense ahead of selling or leasing; neither replaces refurbishment.

Does the repeal mean my building no longer matters for energy efficiency — or that climate targets have been achieved?

No. Legislative surgery targets certificate selection only. Renovation mandates and headline climate KPIs endure unchanged.

Conclusion

From 1 January 2027, the GModG removes the WSchV-1977 barrier in Section 80 (3). For many owners of smaller older buildings with pure residential use, the consumption certificate becomes lawfully selectable for the first time. Whether it is worthwhile depends on annual two-year data, on the use type and on how you occupy the building — not on insulation evidence alone. Whoever collects data early and clearly separates mixed use will have more flexibility after the cut-off.

Wider framing: GModG proclaimed — new energy certificate from 2027. Ahead of commissioning, reconcile datasets and certificate modality alongside your auditor — or seed defensible metering through Energieausweis Online.