MietUmlage (mietumlage.com)

Legally split heat pump costs with tenants and maximize subsidies

Score: 7.8/10GermanyHard BuildReady to Spawn
Brand Colors

The Opportunity

Problem

German homeowners and tenants face massive financial uncertainty from either high upfront heat pump costs or rapidly rising gas/oil heating expenses (projected to double by 2040) due to shifting regulations and green fuel mandates.

Solution

MietUmlage helps landlords calculate the exact legally recoverable portion of heating modernization costs according to German tenancy law (GEG + BGB §559). It generates compliant tenant letters, tracks consents, optimizes subsidy allocation between parties, and produces tax documentation.

Target Audience

German homeowners, landlords, and tenants in residential buildings facing heating system replacement decisions

Differentiator

Embedded up-to-date legal database of court rulings and exact umlage percentages for heating systems — updated monthly by a legal partner.

Brand Voice

professional

Features

Building & Tenant Registry

must-have30h

Upload or enter multi-unit building and tenant data

Legal Umlage Calculator

must-have50h

Automatically computes maximum recoverable amount per tenant per German law

Compliant Document Generator

must-have35h

Creates tenant notification letters, consent forms and rent increase notices

Subsidy Allocation Optimizer

must-have25h

Shows how to divide grants between landlord and tenants for best tax outcome

Consent Tracking Dashboard

must-have20h

Track which tenants have agreed and when rent increases can take effect

Tax Report Exporter

nice-to-have18h

Generates documentation for landlord tax return

Deadline & Reminder Engine

nice-to-have15h

Alerts for legal deadlines (e.g. 3-month objection period)

Tenant Communication Portal

nice-to-have28h

Secure link for tenants to view and digitally sign documents

Portfolio-wide Analysis

future35h

View impact across entire property portfolio

Total Build Time: 256 hours

Database Schema

users

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
emailtextNo
roletextNo
created_attimestampNo

buildings

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
user_iduuidNo
addresstextNo
unit_countintNo
postcodetextNo

Relationships:

  • user_id references users(id)

modernizations

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
building_iduuidNo
total_costintNo
system_typetextNo
statustextNo
created_attimestampNo

Relationships:

  • building_id references buildings(id)

tenants

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
building_iduuidNo
unit_numbertextNo
emailtextYes
consent_statustextNo

Relationships:

  • building_id references buildings(id)

API Endpoints

POST
/api/calculate-umlage

Run legal cost allocation calculation

🔒 Auth Required
POST
/api/documents/generate

Generate PDF tenant letters

🔒 Auth Required
PUT
/api/consents/update

Update tenant consent status

🔒 Auth Required
GET
/api/buildings

Fetch portfolio overview

🔒 Auth Required

Tech Stack

Frontend
SvelteKit + Tailwind + Skeleton UI
Backend
SvelteKit server routes + Prisma
Database
PostgreSQL
Auth
Auth.js (formerly NextAuth)
Payments
Stripe
Hosting
Railway
Additional Tools
pdfmake for documentsResendi18next for German/English

Build Timeline

Week 1: Setup and legal ruleset

42h
  • SvelteKit project
  • Database schema
  • Core umlage calculation logic

Week 2: Building and tenant management

38h
  • CRUD interfaces for buildings/tenants

Week 3: Document generation

45h
  • PDF templates with dynamic legal text

Week 4: Dashboard and tracking

35h
  • Consent tracker
  • Portfolio analytics

Week 5: Payments, polish and legal disclaimers

30h
  • Stripe billing
  • German localization
  • Launch assets
Total Timeline: 5 weeks • 265 hours

Pricing Tiers

Starter

$0/mo

1 modernization project

  • 1 building
  • Basic calculator
  • Static templates

Pro

$29/mo

None

  • Unlimited buildings
  • Full legal engine
  • Custom documents
  • Consent tracking
  • Monthly legal updates

Portfolio

$99/mo

Unlimited

  • Everything in Pro
  • API access
  • White-label documents
  • Dedicated legal hotline
  • Portfolio reporting

Revenue Projections

MonthUsersConversionMRRARR
Month 18514%$406$4,872
Month 662022%$3,814$45,768

Unit Economics

$55
CAC
$720
LTV
3.8%
Churn
81%
Margin
LTV:CAC Ratio: 13.1xExcellent!

Landing Page Copy

Legally pass on heat pump costs to tenants without disputes

Automatic umlage calculations, compliant letters and consent tracking — built for German landlords.

Feature Highlights

Exact legal maximum per tenant
Ready-to-send tenant letters
Automatic consent tracking
Maximize subsidy allocation

Social Proof (Placeholders)

"'Saved me €18,000 in unrecoverable costs on a 6-unit building.' — Berlin property owner"
"'The legal certainty is worth 10x the subscription.' — Hausverwalter"

First Three Customers

1. Partner with two regional Haus & Grund chapters offering free 3-month Pro accounts to their members for case studies. 2. Post detailed guides in Immobilienscout24 landlord forums with link to tool. 3. Run LinkedIn ads targeting 'Immobilienverwalter' and 'Vermieter' job titles in Germany with a free umlage calculator lead magnet.

Launch Channels

IndieHackersProductHuntr/ImmobilienLinkedIn German landlord groupsHausverwalter forumsImmobilien Zeitung newsletter

SEO Keywords

heizung modernisierung umlage mieterwärmepumpe kosten auf mieter umlegengeg modernisierungszuschlag berechnenbgb §559 wärmepumpemieterhöhung wärmepumpe rechner

Competitive Analysis

Member only
Strength

Strong legal reputation

Weakness

Generic templates, no automated calculation engine

Our Advantage

Instant precise calculations specific to heating upgrades

Immowelt Vermieter

https://www.immowelt.de
Free basic
Strength

Large user base

Weakness

No specialized heating law logic

Our Advantage

Deep focus on GEG modernization cost allocation

🏰 Moat Strategy

Curated legal ruleset updated monthly with new court decisions, creating a data asset competitors cannot replicate quickly

⏰ Why Now?

The combination of mandatory heating replacement deadlines and the complex 2024 GEG tenancy cost rules has created massive confusion and risk for landlords right now.

Risks & Mitigation

legalhigh severity

Incorrect legal output leads to landlord lawsuits

Mitigation

Strong disclaimers, templates reviewed by actual German tenancy lawyer, 'for information only' language

executionmedium severity

Keeping legal database current is time-consuming

Mitigation

Build simple admin CMS and budget €400/month for legal freelancer

Validation Roadmap

pre-build10 days

Interview 25 landlords and 5 property managers about current pain with heating modernization cost allocation

Success: At least 70% indicate they would pay for automated legal tool

mvp25 days

Beta test with 25 landlords, measure accuracy against manual lawyer calculations

Success: ≥90% accuracy reported and 25% conversion

Pivot Options

  • Expand into full property management SaaS
  • B2B tool for housing associations
  • Tenant-facing cost transparency platform

Quick Stats

Build Time
265h
Target MRR (6 mo)
$5,200
Market Size
$38.0M
Features
9
Database Tables
4
API Endpoints
4