More housing benefit and more beneficiaries. The number of applications is expected to triple. The amendment to the housing benefit burdens Saxony’s social welfare offices.
Leipzig (dpa / sn) – The housing benefit amendment brings a flood of applications to the large cities in Saxony. In the largest cities in Saxony, applications are expected to triple. In the state capital Dresden alone, the administration needs around 90 additional employees, as the city announced.
In the previous year, around 6,000 households in Dresden received housing benefit, and an average of 21,000 applications were received. In the coming year there could be around 60,000 applications. In preparation, the housing benefit office of the social welfare office in Dresden will remain closed to visitors until January 13, 2023.
At the end of November 2022, 6,050 households in Leipzig received housing benefits. In the current year 2023, around 21,000 households are expected to be entitled to housing benefits, it said. In Chemnitz there were 3,300 households last year. Since a tripling is also expected here, additional employees will process the applications.
Across Germany, 600,000 households receive the state subsidy for their rent. With the housing benefit reform, up to 1.4 million more will be entitled to do so. The payment is to be increased by an average of 190 euros to 370 euros per month. Households that do not receive social benefits but still have little money can apply for housing benefit. The amount of the housing benefit depends on the number of household members, the rent for the living space and the total income of the household members.
