Housing benefit

Wohngeld is a housing subsidy that can help with rent or the cost of a home you own and live in. It generally cannot be combined with Grundsicherungsgeld, formerly Bürgergeld, when that benefit already includes your housing costs.

In short

• Wohngeld is a rent subsidy or a subsidy toward housing you own and live in. If several household members qualify, only one of them is the claimant.
• The amount depends on your income, household and housing costs; there is no single national amount.
• Foreigners are entitled only if they are actually in Germany and meet a status test in section 3. Titles for seeking a training place, seeking work after a stay in Germany under Residence Act section 20, an opportunity card, a study-related internship, or the European Voluntary Service are generally excluded.
• If you receive Grundsicherungsgeld, or another listed living-cost benefit, with housing costs counted in it, the exclusion in section 7 generally applies. Do not end an existing benefit based on an assumption.
• If every household member qualifies in principle for BAföG or the training support listed in section 20(2), Wohngeld is generally excluded even if no funding is paid. Loan-only support and mixed households need a separate check.
• Apply to the Wohngeld authority named by your city or Land, using its form.

What you need to know

Section 1 says the benefit supports adequate, family-friendly housing. The rent subsidy helps with rent, while the burden subsidy helps with the cost of housing you own and live in.

Section 3 says the person entitled to the rent subsidy is the natural person who has rented the housing and lives in it. Similar rights of use are treated the same way, including a long-term right that resembles rent. The person entitled to the burden subsidy is the natural person who owns the housing and lives in it, with the similar rights the section lists.

An owner living in their own house with more than two apartments is treated as a rent-subsidy claimant instead of a burden-subsidy claimant. If several household members qualify, only one of them is the claimant, and they choose who. A person excluded by sections 7 and 8 can still be the claimant if they live with at least one household member who counts.

Foreigners, as the Residence Act defines them, are entitled only if they are actually in Germany and meet one of the status tests in section 3 (5). The section says that, as a rule, people are not entitled if their title is for seeking a training place, for seeking work after a stay in Germany under Residence Act section 20, for an opportunity card, for a study-related internship, or for the European Voluntary Service, in the subsections it cites. This page does not restate every accepted status.

Section 7 generally excludes recipients of Grundsicherungsgeld under Book II and several other listed living-cost benefits when those benefits already count housing costs. There are exceptions, including benefits provided exclusively as loans and specified cases where Wohngeld can prevent or remove the need for the other benefit. A household can also include both excluded and eligible members. Ask the offices to check your situation before changing benefits.

Wohngeld is calculated from income, household and housing costs, so there is no single national amount. You apply to the local Wohngeld authority; its name varies by city and Land.

Study and training funding

Section 20(2) excludes Wohngeld if every household member is entitled in principle to BAföG or one of the other training-support benefits it lists, or would be entitled in principle if they applied. Not applying, or receiving no payment because of the financial assessment, does not remove that exclusion. It does not apply when the support is provided exclusively as a loan. A mixed household with a member who is not entitled in principle needs an individual check; being a student does not by itself settle every household’s entitlement.

If training starts during an existing Wohngeld award period, section 20(2) provides for continued payment at the same amount until that period ends, subject to sections 27(2) and 28. Ask the Wohngeld authority to assess both the household and the timing before changing benefits.

What to do

1. Decide whether you are asking for a rent subsidy or for help with the costs of a home you own and live in. Section 3 ties each one to living in the housing. If you live in your own house with more than two apartments, use the rent-subsidy route.
2. Check sections 7 and 20 before you apply. Housing costs counted in Grundsicherungsgeld and entitlement in principle to study or training funding can exclude a claim. Ask the offices about exceptions, eligible household members, and any coordinated change of benefits; do not end an existing benefit based on an assumption.
3. Apply to the Wohngeld authority named by your city or Land. Bring your tenancy agreement or ownership papers, details of your rent or housing costs, and household income information. Use that authority’s form.
4. Check the decision for the amount and award period. A rent increase or a change in your household can affect the result.

Common mistakes

• Expecting a national monthly amount. The Act calculates Wohngeld. It does not set one rent subsidy for every city.
• Putting every adult in the household in as a separate claimant. If several household members qualify, they choose one of them as the claimant (section 3).
• Relying on Wohngeld with a training-place-search title or a section 20 title for job search after a stay in Germany. Section 3 generally excludes those titles.