Overview
- Germany’s housing benefit rose on 1 January 2025 by an average 15 percent, roughly €30 per month, under the statutory dynamization.
- About 1.2 million households currently receive the subsidy, yet officials and consumer advocates indicate many more—especially retirees—likely qualify but have not applied.
- Eligibility and amounts are determined by household income, the eligible cold rent or owner burden, and the municipality’s rent stage, not by pension level or a flat rent-to-income rule.
- There is no legal cap on apartment size; 2025 one-person rent ceilings range from €361 (Mietenstufe I) to €677 (VII), with heating and climate components from the 2023 reform included in the calculation.
- Applications face long waits in many cities—reports include roughly 17 weeks in Hamburg and up to two years in complex Munich cases—and applicants can pursue an inactivity lawsuit after about three months without a decision; benefits are paid from the month of application and typically approved for 12 months.