FAQ

Housing benefit serves to safeguard economic access to adequate and family-friendly housing. Housing benefit support is intended to enable families and pensioners, for example, to be able to afford housing in the medium price range. Housing benefit is paid as a rent subsidy for rented accommodation and as an encumbrance allowance for owned accommodation. Housing benefit is a contribution towards accommodation costs. The full reimbursement of housing costs through housing benefit is excluded.

Housing benefit is based on

• the number of members of the household to be considered,
• the rent or encumbrances to be considered, and
• total income.

The applicant must

• be a tenant, owner or equivalent person who themselves uses the accommodation for which housing benefit is claimed, and
• have the centre of their everyday life in the accommodation for which housing benefit is claimed, and
• prove that they have sufficient income in addition to housing benefit to cover their necessary requirements at least approximately.

See also “Encumbrance allowance for homeowners”

In addition to the applicant, members of the household include their spouse, their registered civil partner, their partner in a relationship similar to a marriage or civil partnership, their relations by blood or marriage, foster children and foster parents who live together in the accommodation for which housing benefit is claimed, provided that this accommodation is the centre of their everyday life.

The rent to be taken into account is the net rent plus operating costs, including water costs. In the case of the encumbrance allowance, the costs for debt servicing and the management of housing are taken as a basis. From 2023, heating costs will be included in the housing costs as a lump sum. See also 6. Encumbrance allowance for homeowners.

In principle, the same regulations apply to the granting of the encumbrance allowance as to the rent subsidy. Owners of accommodation that they themselves occupy can apply for an encumbrance allowance. Owners of a building lease, who hold a permanent right of residence similar to ownership, a right of residence or a usufruct, for instance, are treated in the same way. The encumbrances that can be taken into account when calculating the entitlement to housing benefit include the costs of debt servicing and the management of the accommodation to an agreed or fixed amount.

Note: If you live in cooperative housing, please apply for rent subsidy, as you will not become the owner of the property you live in.

The rent that applies is the net rent to be paid by the relevant household for the accommodation and the operating costs including water costs. If the stated maximum amounts are exceeded, the rent or encumbrances will be taken into account up to the maximum level only when calculating the housing benefit entitlement.

The whole of Hamburg is classified at rent level VI.

Currently the following values apply:

As at 11/2024.

Yes. From 2023 on, housing benefit includes a permanent heating costs component. This component is scaled as a flat-rate heating cost allowance according to household size. Depending on the size of the household, a flat-rate supplement is added to the rent or encumbrances to be taken into account, which means that heating costs are considered when housing benefit is calculated.

As at 11/2024.

In principle, the annual back payments for operating and heating costs are taken into account in housing benefit. If high back payments overstretch your household, you could be entitled to social benefits. You can get advice on this in many places in Hamburg, particularly in the social service centres and job centres in addition to independent providers.

Income is essentially income subject to income tax, certain tax-free income and certain wage and income replacement benefits. Examples: Unemployment benefit I (ALG 1), maintenance, parental allowance, investment income, pension benefits.

Flat-rate deductions are applied to the payment of taxes and social security contributions. In certain cases of severe disability, sometimes in connection with a need for care, allowances are deducted. For the period from 01.01.2021, allowances may also be taken into account under certain circumstances, provided that receipt of a pension is based on at least 33 qualifying basic pension years or receipt of retirement income is based on comparable periods in an alternative compulsory system.

2025 guideline income table for housing benefit

*without child benefit

Use the housing benefit calculator to see whether you might be entitled to housing benefit.

2025 housing benefit tables are made available by the Federal Ministry for Housing, Urban Development and Building .

No. Housing benefit is a state cash benefit that is distinct from means-tested basic income support or social welfare.

No. Anyone who receives unemployment benefit II (ALG II) / social welfare benefit, basic income support in old age and in the event of reduced earning capacity, assistance towards living expenses or another transfer benefit whose calculation takes into account the costs of accommodation is excluded from housing benefit.

For housing benefit there are differing definitions of the terms “household members”, “rent” / “encumbrance” and “income”. While basic income support and social welfare benefits are oriented towards covering needs, housing benefit is based on the idea that rent (or encumbrances) should not exceed a certain proportion of income. Housing benefit is a subsidy towards housing costs for households above the minimum subsistence level and is intended to ensure that households qualifying for housing benefit are able to pay their rent. In other words, the housing benefit system is designed as a subsidy towards housing costs for households with their own income that they generate themselves.

Housing benefit recipients with children can claim Benefits for Education and Participation (BuT). You can find further information here.

You will receive notification of the application for BuT benefits together with your housing benefit notice.

Housing benefit is paid solely as a subsidy towards housing costs. Consequently – unlike with basic income support or social welfare – other living expenses (and a proportions of housing costs) must be met from your own income. In combination with housing benefit, the income received by a household can exceed the total amount of basic income support or social welfare benefits.

If you can cover your basic income or social welfare needs from your own income plus housing benefit, you are not entitled to basic income support or social welfare benefits. If, on the other hand, your own income plus housing benefit leave you unable to meet your social welfare needs, but you are still able to support yourself, you can voluntarily opt for housing benefit. The question of which benefit is to be preferred is also influenced by actual changes (e.g. an increase in income) or legal changes (e.g. an increase in the level of child benefit, an increase in the standard benefit to cover subsistence).
If in doubt, an individual calculation of entitlements can answer the question of which benefit is to be preferred. You should contact Jobcenter team.arbeit.hamburg, the district offices for basic income support and social security or the housing benefit offices. You can get a non-binding assessment of whether you might be entitled to housing benefit can by using the housing benefit calculator. 

There is no entitlement to housing benefit if all household members are in principle entitled to

• Study grants under the Federal Training Assistance Act (BAföG),
• Vocational training allowance under the SGB III (BAB) or
• Benefits to cover living expenses during a training-related work placement or in-company vocational training when participating in the Special Programme for the Promotion of Occupational Mobility of Young People from Europe Interested in Vocational Training (MobiPro-EU)

that are not granted exclusively as a loan. This also applies if an application for these benefits has been rejected based on the amount or would have to be rejected in the event of an application.

Provided at least one household member has no entitlement in principle to one of the benefits listed, e.g. the child of a single parent, the parents of a student or a partner in a relationship similar to a marriage or civil partnership, there might be an entitlement to housing benefit.

If you have applied for BAföG, MobiPro-EU or BAB, please remember to enclose the approval, amendment or rejection notice with your application for housing benefit as evidence of your household income.

Federal Volunteers are in principle entitled to housing benefit like anyone else. In order for housing benefit to be paid promptly at the start of the volunteering period, we recommend that you apply for housing benefit in good time before your service begins.

Yes, you may be entitled to housing benefit provided that you live permanently in a care home. Many homes offer information and support about this via a general social services counselling service.

Your financial circumstances must be taken into account when calculating your entitlement to housing benefit. Reserves and savings will not automatically lead to a rejection. You must have significant assets for your claim to be rejected. Significant assets are generally only deemed to exist if the total realisable assets of the household members to be considered exceed 60,000 euros for the first household member and 30,000 euros for each additional household member.