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Applying for housing benefit for the first time or for a new application Bauen und Wohnen Sozialleistungen

If you only have a low income, you can apply for housing benefit to reduce your housing costs.

  • Basic information

    Housing benefit is intended to enable you to live appropriately and in a way that is suitable for your family. You can receive housing benefit as

    • rent subsidy for tenants or subtenants of living space or for residents of a home (residents of a home as defined by the respective state law, this also includes people with disabilities who are not only temporarily admitted to special forms of housing for the provision of integration assistance) or as
    • burden allowance for owners of their own home or condominium

    apply for this.

    If the costs of accommodation are covered by another social benefit provider, you are not entitled to housing benefit. This is the case if you already receive

    • citizen's allowance or
    • basic income support in old age or
    • in the event of reduced earning capacity or
    • benefits for living expenses or
    • receive another transfer benefit for which the costs of accommodation have been taken into account in the calculation.

    Requirements

    You must be entitled to housing benefit as an applicant. You are eligible for a rent subsidy as:

    • Tenants of residential property,
    • a subtenant of living space,
    • residents of a cooperative or foundation apartment,
    • residents of a residential home,
    • tenants with similar rights of use, in particular holders of permanent tenancy rights,
    • Owners of an apartment building (3 or more apartments), a commercial building or a business, if you live in this building,
    • Owners of a detached or semi-detached house in which you live, but which also contains business premises to such an extent that it can no longer be regarded as a home,
    • Owners of a full-time agricultural business whose residential part is not separated from the business part.
    • women who live in women's shelters, even if the remuneration is calculated on a daily basis.
    • A person who has been assigned to homeless accommodation or third-party accommodation by the homelessness authority, even if the usage fee (which is not calculated according to the number of days or staggered according to adults and children, for example) is paid to the homelessness authority,

    You are eligible for a housing allowance as:

    • Owners of their own home or condominium,
    • Owners of a small housing estate,
    • Owners of a part-time agricultural business,
    • Owners of a full-time agricultural property if the residential and commercial parts are separate and a housing benefit calculation can be made for the residential part,
    • Owners of a permanent right of residence similar to ownership
    • holders of heritable building rights and those who are entitled to the transfer of ownership of the building or apartment or to the transfer or granting of the heritable building right.
    • The owner of the dwelling must occupy the dwelling and pay the charges for it.

  • Procedure
    • It is best to contact the relevant office in advance to ask for the documents you need.
    • You submit your application in writing using the form provided or by using the online service. You can send the form by mail to the housing allowance office responsible for you or hand it in personally.
    • The authority will examine your application and send you a decision.
    • If the housing allowance is approved, it is usually granted for 12 months.

    More information

    The following information is available:

    In order to avoid or uncover unlawful claims for housing benefit, the housing benefit authority may regularly check the details of all household members by comparing data - including in automated form - in particular with the pension insurance data office.

    For example, the following may be compared

    • whether citizen's allowance (formerly unemployment benefit II) is being paid while the housing benefit is being received,
    • whether there is employment subject to compulsory insurance or marginal employment
    • or the amount of investment income for which an exemption order has been issued.

    It is also possible to compare registration addresses, housing status and the time of re-registrations with the registration office. It is also possible to call up accounts at the Federal Central Tax Office. Suspected cases of fraud are always reported to the public prosecutor's office.

    Through these checks, the housing benefit authority can determine, for example

    • whether housing benefit is being received more than once,
    • whether transfer payments leading to exclusion from housing benefit are being received at the same time,
    • whether the information in the housing benefit application is correct
      • on income from gainful employment,
      • income from one or more pensions
      • income from capital gains (interest or dividends),
    • whether the payment of unemployment benefit was discontinued in the case of original unemployment (e.g. due to taking up new employment) and
    • whether the original home for which housing benefit was paid is still actually being used.

    The review is permitted up to 10 years after notification of the associated housing benefit approval.

  • Necessary Documents
    • Comment

      It is best to contact the responsible office in advance to ask for the documents required for you. In principle, you must provide the following proof of housing costs or burden:

    • Documents about transfer services

      For example, assistance with living costs, social benefits, basic benefits for old age and reduced earning capacity, benefits under the Asylum Seekers' Benefits Act (Asylbewerberleistungsgesetz)

    • Certificate of merit

      Increased income-related expenses are to be proven according to the tax assessment notice, current notices on pension payments of any kind, on benefits according to the Third Book of the Social Code - Employment Promotion (for example, unemployment benefit I, short-time allowance, transitional allowance)

    • Proof of sick pay and other wage replacement benefits
    • for self-employed persons/traders: last tax assessment notice
    • Income of all household members

      To be on the safe side, please declare all income of all household members in money or money's worth, regardless of its source and regardless of whether the income is taxable or not. In this way, you will avoid unnecessary queries. The housing allowance office will then check which of the incomes are chargeable.

    • Students: Certificate of enrollment
    • If applicable: proof of health insurance
    • If applicable: proof of pension or life insurance coverage
    • If applicable: annex to the application for housing allowance in case of expenses for the fulfillment of legal maintenance obligations.
    • If applicable: severely disabled person's certificate (if applicable, proof of care allowance payments)
    • If applicable: proof of residence status

      In the case of foreigners from third countries, proof of residence status and duration of stay must be submitted.

      Other EU citizens must submit a certificate of right of residence/EU residence permit and registration with the registration office.

    • You will also need the following documents to apply for a rent subsidy:

      Landlord Certification Form (usually provided by housing assistance agencies).

    • You will need the following documents to apply for an encumbrance subsidy:
      • Form for determining the burden from the debt service
      • Proof of the burden from the debt service (certificate of borrowed funds, last payment voucher, interest and redemption schedule, if applicable)
      • Proof of the amount of the purchase price or construction costs (also for modernizations)
      • Real estate tax assessment notice/proof of the amount of ground rents
      • If applicable, proof of income from the transfer of rooms and areas to third parties
      • Calculation of living space in accordance with DIN 277 or the Living Space Ordinance (WoFlV, building application)
      • If applicable, notice of the building subsidy
      • Proof of ownership, excerpt from land register, purchase contract

  • Competent Department

  • Online Services

  • Forms

  • Fees / Costs

    gebührenfrei

  • Deadlines & processing time

    What deadlines must be paid attention to?

    You submit the application no later than the last day of the month from which you wish to apply for housing allowance. As a rule, you will receive the housing allowance from the first of the month in which your application was submitted to the housing allowance office.

    How long does it take to process

    A decision on the application will be made immediately. The processing time depends, among other things, on the completeness of your information and the submission of the evidence required for processing the application.

    Longer processing times are not at your expense: the entitlement to housing allowance is checked from the month in which the application is submitted. If you are already entitled to housing benefit, you will not lose any housing benefit.

  • Legal Bases

  • More Information

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Frequently asked Questions

  • Who is a household member?

    Household member is the person entitled to housing allowance.

    Household members are also:

    • the spouse or partner who is not permanently separated
    • the person living in a community of responsibility and responsibility for others
    • siblings, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews
    • parents-in-law, children-in-law, stepparents
    • parents, children, siblings of the life partner
    • Sister-in-law, brother-in-law and his children, niece/nephew of the spouse
    • Foster children regardless of their age and foster parents

  • What income should be taken into account?

    Annual income within the meaning of the Housing Benefit Act is the sum of the positive income (gross less income-related expenses) in accordance with Section 2 (1) and (2) of the Income Tax Act plus the income in accordance with Section 14 (2) of the Housing Benefit Act less the deductions for taxes and social security contributions of each household member.

    For the calculation of housing benefit, a forecast decision is made, i.e. what income is to be expected. The last 12 months prior to the application can serve as the basis for this forecast decision.

    All taxable and tax-free income must always be carefully declared.

    Examples

    • for employees: Wage/salary (certificate of earnings)
    • for pensioners: pensions of all kinds (pension notices, pension notification)
    • for income taxpayers (if proof cannot be provided by the certificate of earnings): all income, to be proven by
      Income tax prepayment notice
      Last income tax assessment notice
      Last income tax return
    • for recipients of maintenance payments: Proof of the maintenance payer, the type, amount and recipient of the benefits
    • for children: Proof of child benefit
    • for unemployed persons: notice of approval from the employment office regarding unemployment benefit or unemployment benefit II / citizen's allowance
    • for trainees or students: Proof of the type, amount and recipient of the training grant (e.g. BAföG, vocational training grant)
    • for recipients of social assistance or war victims' welfare: proof of the type, amount and recipient of the benefits
    • Proof of other benefits: (e.g. proof of interest income or other investment income, rental income, third-party benefits, including on a loan basis if applicable, benefits in kind, scholarships)

  • What is a "negative certificate"?

    If you apply for housing allowance in another municipality or in another federal state, the responsible authority usually requires the submission of a negative certificate. This is then issued on request by the housing allowance office of the former place of residence. This is to check whether and until when housing benefit was paid.

    The issuing of the negative certificate is free of charge. A personal appearance to get the certificate is not required. The application is made informally. It is also possible to apply for the negative certificate by telephone. An authorized person is entitled to take out the negative certificate at the housing allowance office on behalf of the applicant. The power of attorney must be presented.

  • What do I need to communicate?

    Changes to be reported immediately include:

    • Number of household members,
    • Decrease in rent or burden,
    • increase in income, and
    • Change in living quarters, including within the home.

This page has been automatically translated by DeepL. We cannot guarantee that the translation is correct.

The official information in German is complete and correct. 17.11.2025

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