Applying for the payment of rent arrears whilst receiving the citizen’s income

Rent arrears can arise due to an inability to pay and may result in you losing your home.

If you are receiving basic income support and are at risk of losing your home due to rent arrears, the relevant Jobcentre may, in certain cases and upon application, take over your debts. This support is usually provided in the form of a loan. In exceptional cases, you may receive a grant from the Jobcentre which does not need to be repaid.

To be eligible for this support, one of the requirements is that you are unable to clear the rent arrears on your own. The decision on whether you receive support is always made on a case-by-case basis, with an assessment of whether all the conditions for the job centre to take over your rent arrears have been met.

In principle, only actual costs can be covered; no lump-sum payments are granted. The relevant authority will assess whether your accommodation costs are reasonable according to the applicable guidelines and whether, due to specific circumstances in your individual case, an exception to these guidelines is necessary.

The guideline amounts are higher the more people live together in the same accommodation and support one another. This is known as a ‘household’. A household means that the people not only live together but also pay for each other’s food and other necessities. A household includes:

• people aged 15 and over,
• married couples who are not permanently separated,
• registered same-sex partners who are not permanently separated,
• people in a relationship of mutual responsibility and support (‘marriage-like relationship’), or
• children who are under 25 years of age and unmarried.

If you are over 25 years of age, receive basic income support and live in the same flat with relatives or in-laws (for example, parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces or siblings over the age of 25, with their own children and foster children who are over 25 years of age) and manage your finances jointly, you form a household community. This means, for example, that you share the costs of rent, food and other household expenses.

If people do not form a ‘needs community’ but live in a ‘household community’, the relevant Jobcentre will only take into account the share of the rent for each resident when assessing the reasonableness of accommodation costs. This means that the accommodation costs are divided amongst all members of the household community.

If your job centre concludes that you will use the money for something other than settling your rent arrears, the payment will be made directly to your landlord.

This is particularly the case if

• there are rent arrears that have led to the termination of the tenancy,
• electricity or gas bills have not been paid, resulting in your electricity or gas being cut off,
• you are unable to use the money to settle your rent arrears due to illness or addiction problems, or
• there are indications of debt.

There is no legal entitlement to have your rent arrears paid on your behalf.