Questions & Answers

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

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

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.

During the first year of receiving basic income support, the reasonableness of housing costs is not assessed (grace period).

Heating costs are not subject to the grace period rule and are only recognized up to a reasonable amount.

The grace period does not mean that unreasonably expensive apartments can be rented during the first year of receiving benefits. The grace period is intended to protect existing housing. When moving, an approval must be obtained before renting an apartment while receiving benefits. Approval is granted only if there is a valid reason for the move and the new apartment is reasonable according to local regulations.

None at all!

By entering into a lease agreement, you establish a legal relationship with your contractual partner, the tenant. The rights and obligations arising from the contract apply only between you as the contracting parties.

Even if your tenant receives basic income support, this does not change the situation, even if the Job Center pays the rent directly into your account. Such a payment constitutes a different type of authorization to receive funds. It does not establish any payment claims.

If rent arrears arise due to unpaid or partially paid rent, no enforceable claims against the Job Center arise, 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 eligible for benefits.

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

Rent payments may also be withheld in whole or in part if applications are not submitted or are submitted too late, if benefits are reduced due to your tenant’s failure to fulfill obligations, or if household members who are not entitled to basic income support must pay their share of the rent themselves (rent is calculated and paid on a per-person basis).

Direct payment of the rent to you can only be made in full and on time if there is a lawful entitlement to benefits, which is claimed by your tenant in a timely manner, and if there is a sufficient entitlement to basic income support.

Even if you have always received your rent on time and in full via direct payment from the Job Center, it is possible that this may change for the reasons mentioned above.

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

If your tenant is unaware of the outstanding 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.

Credit balances reduce the monthly housing cost requirement in the month following receipt or crediting. The Jobcenter will deduct the credit balance from your tenant’s current rent requirement; in other words, if you pay out a credit balance to your tenant in January 2025, for example, they will receive only the portion of the rent costs that exceeds the credit balance in February 2025.

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

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

Provided the Jobcenter is promptly notified of the credit balance, the monthly basic income support payment for February 2025 will not recognize 310 euros in rent, but only 210 euros—that is, the actual rent minus the credit balance.

The same applies if the rent is paid directly.

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 Job Center does not cover follow-up costs resulting from your move out of your living quarters.

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

If, after the tenant moves out, you prepare a heating and/or operating costs statement that includes an additional payment, your former tenant may apply to the Jobcenter for reimbursement of that additional payment—specifically, the Jobcenter responsible for the tenant in the month the payment is due. For example, if your tenant moves to Essen on January 1, 2019, and applies for basic income support there at the Jobcenter, a statement of account with a final payment prepared by you can be claimed only and exclusively through the Essen Jobcenter. If the tenant’s benefits have ended after the move, the Jobcenter cannot cover these costs.

If you signed a declaration of assignment for security deposit payments when your tenant moved in, you are required to notify the Jobcenter of the upcoming payment before making it. The Jobcenter will then inform you whether part of the security deposit payment—or even the entire amount—must be credited to the Jobcenter or can be paid out to your landlord.

No.

Recipients of basic income support benefits only need a written assurance regarding a move if it results in higher rent costs than before or if the move incurs costs.

Individuals under the age of 25 need a written assurance that costs will be covered in order to move out of their parents’ household, as there must be a valid reason for this move.

If this confirmation 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 rent certificate allows you to provide further details about your apartment and its costs. Among other things, you can also include information there about any rent arrears that have already accrued.

This is required for all benefit recipients so that their eligibility can be assessed and benefits calculated.

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 may also revoke this authorization at any time without providing a reason.