If your household’s income is not sufficient to cover the cost of your housing on your own, you may be legally entitled to housing assistance. Housing assistance is provided as a rent subsidy for renters and as a mortgage subsidy for homeowners (single-family homes, condominiums).

Please note:
Housing assistance is granted only upon application. Payments begin on the first day of the month in which the application was submitted.

The amount of housing assistance is determined by family size, family income, and the amount of rent or housing costs to be taken into account. The rent eligible for housing allowance includes basic operating costs (so-called “gross rent excluding utilities”), but does not include charges for heating and hot water.

Excluded from housing allowance payments are, among others, recipients of benefits under the Social Code (SGB) II and SGB XII if housing costs are already included in the calculation of those benefits.