ᐅ Is the Prohibition of Other Heat Sources When Using District Heating Legal?

Hello, I am new here. We have been living in our house for 7 years, using district heating supplied by the local utility company and have a wood stove. Everything has been normal so far, but yesterday we received the new heat supply contract by mail, which will be valid from January 1, 2024. It contains a clause that was not in the old contract. It states:

...The customer agrees to purchase all heat required at the consumption point during the contract period. The customer waives the right to generate heat independently or to obtain it from third parties for this purpose...

Does this mean I am no longer allowed to operate a wood stove or something similar...?

Weren't you homeowners yourselves? How old is the house?

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What is recorded in the land register? In our case, something like this is included in the land register.

The house is now 7 years old. We were the owners and builders ourselves. There are no issues from the city or land registry. It is the municipal utilities that write, if you continue to use our district heating, then only this and nothing else? We wonder if this is lawful?

First, you need to check whether your house is located in an area subject to district heating regulations. If so, there will be a specific ordinance detailing all relevant information, including any requirements for connection and mandatory usage. This ordinance would also cover the use of any external heat sources.

If it is a free contractual arrangement, you can influence the contract terms accordingly.

You should always carefully consider whether you want to place yourself in the hands of what is essentially a monopoly provider. District heating has become a very expensive heat source—almost unaffordable.

@Buchsbaum, I totally agree with you. So far, there have been no problems. The issue now is the short timeframe; switching to, for example, a heat pump cannot be done by 01/01/24. If I don’t sign the contract, the house will be without heating from that date. It’s basically a catch-22. There has been and still is no obligation to connect, only the city’s ban on using oil or gas.