Questions & Answers

If the costs are not reasonable and the apartment is already occupied at the time of application, your tenant will be informed in writing of the unreasonableness.

The actual costs will be taken into account for a maximum of 6 months. If the costs are not reduced to a reasonable level, e.g. by moving, subletting, or similar, only the reasonable costs will be taken into account from the 7th month onwards. This means that the portion of the rent not covered by the Jobcenter must be paid by your tenant themselves.

The reduction in costs also affects the utility bill.

No.

Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and can basically live wherever they want. The job center does not require you to move. The job center merely provides information and advice on unreasonable costs and the consequences if these are not reduced within a reasonable period of time (maximum 6 months). Costs can also be reduced in ways other than moving.

If the tenant is already living in your apartment when they apply for SGB II benefits, a profitability calculation will be carried out. Minor amounts will be taken into account.

These do not apply to new apartment rentals.

In the first year of receiving citizen's income, the appropriateness of accommodation costs is not checked (grace period).

Heating costs are not covered by the waiting period rule and are only recognized to a reasonable extent.

The waiting period does not mean that unreasonably expensive apartments can be rented within the first year of receiving benefits. The waiting period is intended to protect existing apartments. In the event of a move, assurance must be obtained before renting while receiving benefits. Assurance will only be granted if there is an important reason for the move and the new apartment is reasonable according to local regulations.

None!

By signing a rental agreement, you establish a legal relationship with your contractual partner, the tenant. Rights and obligations arising from the agreement are only established between you as contractual partners.

Even if your tenant is a recipient of basic income support, this does not change anything, even if the job center pays the rent directly into your account. Such a payment is a different type of entitlement to receive payment. No payment claims are established.

If rent arrears arise due to unpaid or partially paid rent, there are no enforceable claims against the job center, even if the rent has previously been transferred directly to your account.

Yes.

Direct payment of the rent to you is possible if appropriate use by the beneficiary cannot be guaranteed. This is the case if there are rent arrears that justify extraordinary termination of the tenancy agreement.

If your tenant has rent arrears, please notify us in writing. We require the full name of your tenant, if you know it, the joint household number, and the amount of rent arrears with the due date. If, after hearing your tenant, the job center finds that there are no obstacles, the rent will be transferred directly to you in future.

Since your tenant must first be interviewed by the job center before the direct payment can be made, you should expect a corresponding processing time.

A mere delay or irregularity in rent payment does not entitle you to direct payment.
Regardless of the legal option to pay the rent to you even if the tenant has not given their consent, your tenant has the option of voluntarily declaring that the rent should be transferred to you.
To do this, you must complete the form and submit it to the Jobcenter.

The tenant may revoke this declaration at any time. In this case, you will no longer have a legal claim to further direct payments.

No!

The job center can only make direct payments to you if you are entitled to benefits.

Entitlement to rent payments may be waived in whole or in part if, for example, your tenant earns income that is counted toward basic security benefits. This can result in only a proportional entitlement or no entitlement at all.

Rent payments may also be waived in whole or in part if applications are not submitted or are submitted too late, if your tenant's benefits are reduced due to breaches of duty, or if members of the household who are not entitled to basic security benefits have to pay their share of the rent themselves (rent is calculated and paid on a per capita basis).

Direct payment of rent to you can only be made in full and on time if there is a legitimate entitlement to benefits, which is claimed from us in good time by your tenant, and if there is a sufficient entitlement to basic security benefits.

Even if you have always received your rent on time and in full through direct payment from the job center, this may not be the case for the reasons mentioned above.

You can find out why this is the case from your tenant. Your tenant is the beneficiary and knows why payments from the job center are not being made.
Any inquiry you make will be unsuccessful due to data protection regulations unless your tenant has given their consent for information to be disclosed to you.

If your tenant is not aware of the missing rent payment, they must contact the job center themselves.

No.

The bill is addressed to your tenant, even if the rent is paid directly to you by the job center.

If additional payments are due from a settlement, these can be taken into account as one-time accommodation costs.

The prerequisite for this is that your tenant submits the bill to the job center in a timely manner.

If the rent is paid directly to you, the costs of the additional payment that are eligible for reimbursement will also be paid directly to you.
This does not apply to settlement amounts that were already due before your tenant began receiving benefits.

No.

The job center will review the bill to determine whether it will cover the costs. In particular, it will check whether your bill shows the advance payments known to the job center and whether your tenant is even entitled to have the costs covered. Such an entitlement does not exist, for example, if the benefit has already been terminated when the bill is delivered, possibly due to the tenant starting work or moving away.

Under certain circumstances, it is also possible that only a portion of the bill will be covered.

The job center will inform your tenant of the result of the review of the bill by means of a notice. This notice will also state the reasons for non-acceptance or only partial acceptance of the additional payment. If you have any questions about the amount of the reimbursement or the status of the application, please contact your tenant.

Here, too, information is subject to data protection, so the job center cannot provide you with any information.

No.

Sending the statement as a landlord does not trigger an application. It cannot be processed.

Credits reduce the monthly accommodation costs after receipt/credit. The job center will deduct the credit from your tenant's current rent, i.e., if you pay a credit balance to your tenant in January 2025, for example, they will only receive the portion of the rent costs that exceeds the credit balance in February 2025.

Example: You prepare an operating costs statement showing a credit balance of 100 euros. The monthly rent including ancillary costs is 310 euros.

You transfer the credit balance to your tenant in January 2025.

Provided that the job center is notified of the credit balance in a timely manner, the monthly basic income support for February 2025 will not recognize $310 in rent, but only $210, i.e., the actual rent minus the credit balance.

The same applies to direct payment of rent.

As the landlord, you have the option of informing the responsible job center.
Direct payment of the rent to you will be considered.

Only your tenant can apply for the rent arrears to be covered. Under certain conditions, the law provides for the possibility of covering the arrears as a loan if your tenant is at risk of homelessness due to an impending or actual termination of their tenancy.

Recommend your tenant to the office for:
Housing security – Preventing homelessness – of the City of Hagen
Lutherstr. 12
58095 Hagen
This office is responsible for people who are at immediate risk of homelessness, i.e.,

This office is responsible for people who are at immediate risk of homelessness, i.e., people who are about to lose their current home because


• there is an unenforced eviction order against them
• an eviction lawsuit was filed against them
• her apartment was terminated or
• the termination of her apartment is imminent

and are unable to find adequate housing without institutional assistance.
If there is a threat of losing housing, but this has not yet occurred (e.g., in the case of termination without notice or eviction proceedings), the measures taken by the Central Specialist Office are aimed at retaining housing. In addition to material assistance, counseling and personal assistance are also provided to help them retain their housing. The assistance options offered by debt counseling, the Central Counseling Center for Prisoners Released from Custody, and the Regional Social Services are also utilized.

The Jobcenter will not cover any follow-up costs incurred after you move out of your living space.

If you incur renovation or disposal costs, these must be claimed from the tenant.

If you prepare a heating and/or operating costs statement after the tenant has moved out and conclude it with an additional payment, your former tenant can apply for the additional payment from the job center, which is responsible for him in the month in which the additional payment is due. For example, if your tenant moves to Essen on January 1, 2019, and applies for basic income support from the Jobcenter there, any statement you have prepared with an additional payment can only and exclusively be applied for at the Jobcenter in Essen. If the benefit payments have ended after the move, there is no possibility of the Jobcenter covering the costs.

If you signed a declaration of assignment for deposit payments when your tenant moved in, you are obliged to inform the job center of the upcoming payment before it is made. The job center will then inform you whether part of the deposit payment or the entire credit must be made to the job center or can be paid to your landlord.

No.

Recipients of basic income support only need a guarantee to move if this involves higher rental costs than before or if the move incurs costs.

Persons under the age of 25 require a guarantee of cost coverage in order to move out of their parents' household, as there must be an important reason for this move.

If this assurance is not provided, no rental costs will be covered.

No consent is required to conclude the rental agreement. However, if an unreasonable apartment is rented, only the reasonable costs will be covered from the first day of the rental period.

Even if the tenant is willing to pay the portion of the rent that exceeds the reasonable amount, they will not receive any assurance for the rental.

This means that in such a case, no moving costs can be claimed. A loan for a security deposit will also not be paid.

If the move to a suitable apartment is necessary, it is possible to grant the deposit as a loan.

A loan can only be granted if the beneficiary is unable to raise the funds themselves, e.g., by paying out the deposit from their previous apartment or from their own assets.
A loan can only be granted if the deposit is contractually agreed and does not exceed the legal limit of a maximum of 3 months' rent. The beneficiary must apply for this.

As the landlord, you must sign a declaration of assignment (loan application form) for the loan to be granted.
With this, you guarantee that you will settle any outstanding claims from the loan with the job center before paying your tenant when they move out.

The loan can only become due at the beginning of the tenancy, i.e., with the first rent payment.
Payment will be made directly to you.

The rental certificate allows you to provide further details about your apartment and the costs associated with it. Among other things, you can also provide information about any rent arrears you have already accumulated.

This is required for all beneficiaries in order to check and calculate their needs.

You can also use the rent certificate as a "cost estimate" for a rental offer to potential tenants.

Yes, this is possible if your tenant agrees to this direct payment and declares this to us using the Rent to Landlord form.

Direct payment is not possible against the tenant's will. The tenant can also revoke this at any time without giving reasons.