Wohngeld beantragen

• § 1 Wohngeldgesetz (WoGG) – Zweck des Wohngeldes
• § 3 WoGG – Wohngeldberechtigung
• § 12 WoGG – Höchstbeträge für Miete und Belastung und Beträge für Heizkosten
• § 19 WoGG – Höhe des Wohngeldanspruchs
• § 22 WoGG – Antrag
• § 23 WoGG – Auskunftspflicht
• § 26 WoGG – Zahlung des Wohngeldes
• § 27 WoGG – Änderung des Wohngeldes
• § 28 WoGG – Wegfall des Wohngeldanspruchs
• § 33 WoGG – Datenabgleich
• Bundesgesetzblatt Teil I (BGBl. I) – Gesetz zur Änderung des Heizkostenzuschussgesetzes und des Elften Buches Sozialgesetzbuch vom 09.11.2022

Housing benefit is intended to ensure adequate and family-friendly housing. Housing benefit is intended to help households whose income is not sufficient to cover the costs of adequate housing. Tenant households and households living in owner-occupied property can apply for housing benefit.

The subsidy towards housing costs is paid jointly by the federal and state governments.

Whether a household can claim housing benefit and the amount depends on three factors:

• Number of household members to be taken into account
• The amount of total income
• The amount of eligible rent or charges

Housing benefit is granted in the form of a rent subsidy or an encumbrance allowance.

Rent subsidy

• Tenant*
• Subtenant
• Authorised user of living space
• Occupant of a flat in an owner-occupied apartment block

*) In order to remain comprehensible, we limit ourselves to the generalised personal designations, they always refer to each gender - the editors

Encumbrance allowance

• Owners of their own home or condominium

In addition, residents of a retirement or nursing home who are permanently housed there can apply for housing benefit for care home residents.

Education package

Children who are taken into account as household members when housing benefit is granted and for whom child benefit is paid at the same time can apply to the responsible office for benefits for education and participation in accordance with the Federal Child Benefit Act.

Housing Benefit Plus Act

The Housing Benefit Plus Act has been in force since January 2023. This means that far more households than before are entitled to this benefit. This leads to a considerable delay in the processing of new applications. If possible, please refrain from enquiring about the processing status. Your housing benefit authority will endeavour to process your application as quickly as possible.

Note: Please enter the city or municipality of your place of residence under "Specify location".

You must enclose the relevant evidence with your housing benefit application, such as

• Wage and salary statements
• Tenancy agreement
• Rent receipts

Please note the information sheet on the required documents; the responsible office may ask you for further information, declarations etc. (supplementary forms and information sheet -> see Forms and other offers).

Recipients of other social benefits (transfer benefits) and members of their "community of need" are excluded from housing benefit if their accommodation costs have been taken into account in the calculation of the respective social benefit. For these persons, the accommodation costs are covered by the respective social benefit provider.

This applies to recipients of:

• Unemployment benefit II and social benefit or citizen's allowance from January 2023
• Basic income support in old age and in the event of reduced earning capacity
• Assistance with living expenses
• supplementary assistance for living expenses in accordance with the Federal Pension Act or a law that declares this to be applicable
• Benefits for asylum seekers
• Child and youth welfare benefits, if only recipients of these benefits live in the household
• Transitional allowance and injury allowance benefits in the amount of unemployment benefit II or citizen's allowance from January 2023
• Accommodation allowances for trainees and students

If you do not belong to this group of people, your entitlement to housing benefit and its amount depends on three factors

• Number of household members
• The total income of the household members (the total income is the sum of the annual incomes of the people in the household minus certain exemptions and deductions)
• Amount of the rent or charge to be taken into account
  (In the case of the rent subsidy, the rent is subsidised, and in the case of the burden subsidy, the financial burden is subsidised. The costs must be borne by the tenant themselves, not by a third party. Housing benefit is only ever paid for reasonable housing costs. The rent or charges can therefore only be subsidised up to a certain maximum amount)

Note: Anyone who belongs to the group of entitled persons has a legal claim to housing benefit.

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You can apply for housing benefit from the relevant housing benefit authority or your local authority. Some applications can be made online, otherwise please use the prescribed forms. You can also obtain these from your local authority. To access them, enter the city or municipality of your place of residence above (see -> Online application and Forms and other services).

Online application

Set up a service account in Amt24 and use it to log in to the service portal. Have electronic copies of the required documents ready.

• Follow the link to the online application and complete the data fields according to the instructions. You can save the information at any time and complete it at a later date.
• Once all the data fields have been completed, finalise the application and the data will be sent to the responsible office.
• You will find the application confirmation in the inbox of your service account, which is used to exchange information about the procedure. You will receive a notification of incoming messages to your personal e-mail address.

Written application

• Location selection: enter the city or municipality of your place of residence above.
• Call up the official forms via the form links; the forms can also be completed electronically.
• Submit the complete and signed documents by post or in person to the relevant office.

Note: Informally submitted applications only determine the time of application; you must then submit a formal application to prove that you fulfil the requirements for receiving housing benefit.

Notification of changes

As the recipient of housing benefit, you must notify the relevant housing benefit authority immediately of any changes during the current approval period that could affect the amount of housing benefit.

This is the case if

• the rent/burden (excluding heating costs) is reduced or increased by more than 15 per cent
• or the income of household members increases or decreases by more than 15 per cent
• You move out of your previous home, even if it is a move in the same house
• the number of household members to be taken into account is reduced or increased

As a housing benefit recipient, you must therefore notify the relevant housing benefit authority of such changes without delay.

Allowance period and applications for continued benefits

• Housing benefit is generally granted for twelve months (approval period).

An application is also required for the continuation of housing benefit, which should be submitted two months before the end of the current approval period. This allows you to avoid interrupting current housing benefit payments.

Authorisation: from the month of application at the earliest (not possible retroactively)

Automated data synchronisation

In order to prevent housing benefit from being claimed unlawfully, the housing benefit authorities are authorised to check the details of all household members included in the calculation of housing benefit by means of an automated data comparison.

In particular, this involves determining whether

• transfer payments under SGB II or SGB XII are being received that would lead to the exclusion of housing benefit,
• the information on income (from: investment income, income from employment subject to compulsory insurance or mini-job, statutory pension and accident insurance) is correct.

If the automated data comparison provides evidence of a situation that differs from the housing benefit application, the housing benefit authority is obliged to clarify these circumstances. The housing benefit authority will contact the applicant for this purpose. The applicant is obliged to co-operate in clarifying the facts of the case.

The housing benefit authority is also permitted to contact the employer or the organisations paying out the investment income (e.g. banks) in order to clarify the facts.

Objection (details in the notification)