Whether and to what extent you can claim housing benefit depends on various factors:

1. How high is your total income?
2. How high is your rent or your monthly burden in the case of home ownership?
3. What is the number of household members and what is their income?

1. total income:

Total income is the sum of the annual incomes of all household members to be considered. Certain allowances and deductions for maintenance payments can be deducted from this. Income is calculated on the basis of taxable income, supplemented by tax-exempt income. In each case, 10 percent must be deducted from this amount if, during the period of the grant

• taxes on income
• compulsory contributions to statutory health and long-term care insurance
• compulsory contributions to statutory pension insurance

are made. If all three payments listed are made, the deduction amounts to 30 percent.

2. rent/monthly charge in the case of ownership:

Rent is the agreed-upon payment for the use of living space based on a rental agreement. Burden in the case of owners is the expenses for debt service and management of the property. The basis for calculating the housing allowance is the gross cold rent. The rent does not include heating costs and costs for hot water. These are taken into account by means of a flat rate. Household electricity and allowances for the use of a garage or parking space for motor vehicles are also not included. The rent or charge is only eligible up to certain maximum amounts. The maximum amounts are based on local rent levels, called rent tiers.

3. household members:

Household members are the person eligible for housing assistance and certain other persons living in the dwelling. The dwelling must be the center of living relations for each of these persons. Household members who are excluded from the housing allowance are not considered. You are excluded from housing allowance if you receive transfer payments (other social benefits) in which housing costs are already included. For example:

• Citizen's allowance or
• Basic income support in old age and in case of reduced earning capacity.

Students and trainees living alone are also not entitled to housing allowance if they are entitled to BAföG or Berufsausbildungsbeihilfe (BAB). This also applies if BAföG or BAB was rejected because the parents' income was too high. For details, please contact the housing allowance office responsible for you.

Changes can, but do not have to, lead to an increase in the housing allowance. If your financial situation or living conditions have improved or changed again, the housing allowance may also be reduced.

In order to avoid the unlawful claiming of housing allowance, the housing allowance authority may regularly check the household members by means of a data comparison.

The amount of the housing allowance may vary from region to region. Rent or charges are eligible only up to certain maximum amounts. The maximum amounts are based on the local rent level. There are 6 rent levels. At rent level III, a municipality's rents roughly correspond to the national average.