Subsidies for housing: Number of households with housing benefit and expenditure on it increased
Those who can no longer afford housing can receive a government subsidy. How have households and expenditure developed over the past year?
Wiesbaden – The number of households receiving housing benefits and the associated expenses surged to their highest level in 20 years in 2025, according to the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden. State spending on this support grew by more than 6 percent in a year, from just under €4.7 billion to just under €5 billion. The number of households receiving housing benefits increased by 7.2 percent, or roughly 90,000 more households than the previous year.
Housing benefits are provided to low-income households to help them afford adequate accommodation. The eligibility amount depends on income, housing costs, and the number of household members. The rise in housing benefit claims over the past year is attributed to legally mandated, scheduled adjustments in response to price and rent developments.
In terms of regional variation, Schleswig-Holstein saw the highest increase, with a 12.9 percent rise in housing benefit households year-over-year, compared to a 1.7 percent increase in Berlin. The average housing benefit per household ranged from €217 in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern to €339 in Hessen. Over half of housing benefit households were primarily led by retirees and pensioners.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
