Overview
- The draft law by Bauministerin Verena Hubertz completed a late-night first reading in the Bundestag on Friday and now moves to detailed committee scrutiny.
- The proposal seeks concrete savings of about €738 million for the federal government and the Länder in the first year and roughly €1 billion for each level from 2028 by changing how Wohngeld is calculated.
- Key technical changes in the draft include suspending automatic indexation to inflation and rents, altering the calculation formula and cutting the heating-cost component by half.
- Official projections in the bill estimate roughly 381,000 households would lose entitlement and about 143,000 of those could move into basic income support (Grundsicherung), raising concerns about rent arrears and linked benefit losses such as Kinderzuschlag.
- The plan has drawn sharp criticism from opposition parties, social organisations and some SPD figures and still requires Bundestag committee approval and Bundesrat consent before becoming law; existing Wohngeld decisions remain valid until they expire.