Housing benefit
Housing benefit is granted in accordance with the Housing Benefit Act (WoGG). The purpose of housing benefit is to ensure adequate and family-friendly housing. It is paid as a rent or encumbrance subsidy towards housing costs (§ 1 Para. 1 WoGG).
Recipients of unemployment benefit II and social benefit in accordance with SGB II, basic security benefits in old age and in the event of reduced earning capacity or assistance with living expenses in accordance with SGB XII as well as other social benefits listed in § 1 Para. 2 WoGG, for which the costs of accommodation have been taken into account in the calculation, are excluded from housing benefit.
Housing benefit is granted if the family income, taking into account the number of family members, does not reach certain maximum limits, the rent or burden exceeds the reasonable level shown in a table and there are no special reasons for support. The rent or burden can only be taken into account for housing costs corresponding to the size of the family. The different local rent levels are taken into account by assigning rent levels to the individual municipalities.