Who pays for higher energy costs? Distributional effects in the housing market

We examine how rising energy costs affect rental housing markets and inequality. Using listing data for the 30 largest German cities from 2015-2024, we find that higher energy prices are passed through to net rents in high-rent segments, where inefficient properties see significant rent reductions, but not in lower-priced segments. This asymmetry reflects tighter markets and lower demand elasticity in the affordable segment. Consequently, low-income households face much larger increases in total housing costs. Our results show how segmented housing markets can amplify inequality when energy prices rise, highlighting important distributional implications for climate policy.