Housing benefit is intended to enable you to live in appropriate, family-friendly accommodation. You can receive housing benefit as

• rent subsidy for tenants or subtenants of residential space or for residents of a home (home residents 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 purpose of providing integration assistance) or as
• cost subsidy for owners of a home or condominium

.

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

• citizen's income or
• basic income support in old age or
• reduced earning capacity, or
• assistance with living expenses or
• another transfer payment for which the cost of accommodation has been taken into account in the calculation.

As the applicant, you must be eligible for housing benefit. You are eligible for housing benefit for a rent subsidy if you are:

• Tenants of residential space,
• subtenant of residential space,
• residents of a cooperative or foundation apartment,
• residents of a home,
• beneficiaries of rent-like rights of use, in particular holders of rent-like permanent rights of residence,
• owners of a multi-family house (three or more apartments), a commercial building, or a commercial enterprise, if you live in this house,
• Owners of a single-family or two-family house in which you live, but which also contains business premises to such an extent that it can no longer be considered a private home,
• Owners of a full-time agricultural business whose residential part is not separated from the commercial part.
• Women who live in women's shelters, even if the fee is calculated on a daily basis.
• A person who has been placed in homeless shelters or third-party accommodation by the homeless authority, even if the usage fee (which is not calculated, for example, according to the number of days or graded according to adults and children) is paid to the homeless authority.

You are eligible for housing benefit for a subsidy for living expenses if you are:

• Owners of a house or condominium,
• owners of a small housing development,
• owners of a part-time agricultural business,
• Owner of a full-time agricultural business, if the residential and commercial parts are separate and a housing allowance calculation can be made for the residential part,
• holders of a permanent right of residence similar to ownership
• Holds of hereditary building rights and those who are entitled to transfer of ownership of the building or apartment or to transfer or granting of the hereditary building right.

The occupant of the living space must live in the living space and bear the costs for it.

The following information is provided:

In order to prevent or detect unlawful claims for housing benefits, the housing benefits authority may regularly check the details of all household members by comparing data—including in automated form—in particular with the pension insurance data center.

For example, it may be checked

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

It is also possible to compare data with the registration authority regarding registered addresses, housing status, and the date of re-registrations. In addition, it is possible to request account information from the Federal Central Tax Office. Suspected cases of fraud are always reported to the public prosecutor's office.

These checks enable the housing benefit authority to determine, for example,

• whether housing benefits are being claimed multiple times,
• whether transfer payments leading to exclusion from housing benefit are being received at the same time,
• whether the information provided in the housing benefit application
  • regarding income from gainful employment,
  • income from one or more pensions,
  • income from capital gains (interest or dividends),
• whether, in the case of original unemployment, the payment of unemployment benefits has been discontinued (for example, due to the commencement of new gainful employment), and
• whether the original apartment for which housing benefit was paid is still actually being used.

The review is permitted until the expiry of ten years after notification of the relevant housing benefit approval.

• Appeal

Further information on how to lodge an appeal can be found in the decision on your application for housing benefit.

You must submit your application by the last day of the month from which you wish to claim housing benefit. As a rule, you will receive housing benefit from the first day of the month in which your application was submitted to the housing benefit office.

The processing time depends, among other things, on whether we have received all the necessary documents and information in full. We will endeavor to process your request as quickly as possible. However, in many cases there will be delays. You will not be charged for longer processing times.

Due to the large number of applications we have to process, we are unfortunately unable to provide any information on the receipt or status of an application.

In principle, you must provide the following evidence of living costs or financial burden:

• Transfer payments (e.g., cost-of-living assistance, social security benefits, basic income support in old age and in the event of reduced earning capacity, benefits under the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act)
• Income statement for the housing allowance application
• Tax assessment notice as proof of increased income-related expenses
• Current notices regarding pension payments of any kind
• on benefits under the Third Book of the Social Code - Employment Promotion (e.g., unemployment benefit I, short-time work allowance, transitional allowance)
• Proof of sick pay and other wage replacement benefits
• Latest tax assessment notice (for self-employed persons/traders)

To be on the safe side, please state all income of all household members in cash or cash value. Do not take into account the source of the income or whether the income is taxable or not. This will avoid unnecessary queries. The housing allowance office will then check which of the incomes are eligible. If necessary, other evidence must be enclosed:

• Certificate of enrollment (students)
• BAföG notification (students)
• Declaration of monthly allowances from parents during studies
• Proof of health insurance
• Proof of pension or life insurance
• Appendix to the application for housing allowance for expenses incurred in fulfilling statutory maintenance obligations
• Severe disability card (if applicable, proof of care allowance payments)
• Foreign nationals from third countries must provide proof of their residence status and the duration of their stay.
• Other EU citizens must submit a certificate of right of residence/EU residence permit and proof of registration with the registration authorities.

To apply for a rent subsidy, you will also need the following form:

• Landlord's certificate (usually provided by the housing benefit authorities).

To apply for a cost subsidy, you will also need the following forms/proof:

• Form for determining the burden of debt servicing
• Proof of the burden from debt servicing (certificate of external funds, last payment receipt, interest and repayment plan if applicable)
• Proof of the purchase price or construction costs (including for modernization work)
• Property tax assessment/proof of the amount of ground rent
• If applicable, proof of income from the transfer of rooms and space to third parties
• Living space calculation in accordance with DIN 277 or the Living Space Ordinance (WoFlV, building application)
• If applicable, notice of the child allowance for home buyers
• Proof of ownership, land register extract, purchase agreement