Germany Proposes €15 Cutoff for Small Wohngeld Payments

Overview

• About 1.2 million households currently receive Wohngeld, and the August instalment is scheduled to be paid on July 31, 2026.
• The government’s Gesetzentwurf would remove entitlement when a calculated monthly Wohngeld amount is under €15 and suspend a planned 2027 adjustment to reduce spending by roughly €1.5 billion.
• Bundesbauministerin Verena Hubertz said the changes could cut roughly one-third of current beneficiary households from the rolls, a figure that has drawn sharp objections from tenant and social welfare groups.
• Specific protections already exist in the rules, for example a reported €1,800 income disregard for households with severe disability or care needs that can raise entitlements for affected claimants.
• Average Wohngeld is about €287 per month and critics warn that cuts would hit many pensioners, low-income families and renters who depend on the monthly advance payments set out in §26 of the Wohngeldgesetz.