You are eligible for a rent subsidy as:

• Tenants of residential property,
• a subtenant of living space,
• residents of a cooperative or foundation apartment,
• residents of a residential home,
• tenants with similar rights of use, in particular holders of permanent tenancy rights,
• Owners of an apartment building (3 or more apartments), a commercial building or a business, if you live in this building,
• Owners of a detached or semi-detached house in which you live, but which also contains business premises to such an extent that it can no longer be regarded as a home,
• Owners of a full-time agricultural business whose residential part is not separated from the business part.
• women living in women's shelters, even if the remuneration is calculated on a daily basis.
• A person who has been assigned to homeless accommodation or third-party accommodation by the homelessness authority, even if the usage fee (which is not calculated according to the number of days or staggered according to adults and children, for example) is paid to the homelessness authority.

You are eligible for a housing allowance as:

• Owners of their own home or a condominium,
• Owners of a small housing estate,
• Owners of a part-time agricultural business,
• Owners of a full-time agricultural property if the residential and commercial parts are separate and a housing benefit calculation can be made for the residential part,
• Owners of a permanent right of residence similar to ownership
• holders of heritable building rights and those who are entitled to the transfer of ownership of the building or apartment or to the transfer or granting of the heritable building right.
• The owner of the dwelling who occupies the dwelling and bears the burden for it.

In order to avoid or uncover unlawful claims for housing benefit, the housing benefit authority may regularly check the details of all household members by comparing data - including in automated form - in particular with the pension insurance data office.

For example, the following may be compared

• whether citizen's allowance (formerly unemployment benefit II) is being paid while the housing benefit is being received,
• whether there is employment subject to compulsory insurance or marginal employment
• or the amount of investment income for which an exemption order has been issued.

It is also possible to compare registration addresses, housing status and the time of re-registrations with the registration office. It is also possible to call up accounts at the Federal Central Tax Office. Suspected cases of fraud are always reported to the public prosecutor's office.

Through these checks, the housing benefit authority can determine, for example

• whether housing benefit is being received more than once,
• whether transfer payments leading to exclusion from housing benefit are being received at the same time,
• whether the information in the housing benefit application is correct
  • on income from gainful employment,
  • income from one or more pensions
  • income from capital gains (interest or dividends),
• whether the payment of unemployment benefit was discontinued in the case of original unemployment (e.g. due to taking up new gainful employment) and
• whether the original home for which housing benefit was paid is still actually being used.

The review is permitted up to 10 years after notification of the associated housing benefit approval.