Housing Benefit Cut Dropped: 1.3 Million Households Keep Wohngeld
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Germany's governing coalition has dropped its plan to cut housing benefit (Wohngeld). SPD parliamentary leader Matthias Miersch announced the agreement late on Wednesday 11 November, after the coalition leaders negotiated the 2027 federal budget. The current Wohngeld rules stay in place.
About 1.3 million households in Germany receive Wohngeld, on average 296 euros a month. More than half of them are pensioner households, and around 40 percent are families. The government's original draft would have removed the benefit from about one third of recipients, roughly 381,000 households. It would also have halved the heating cost allowance for single people from 96 to 48 euros, and raised the minimum payout from 10 to 15 euros a month. The cuts were meant to save more than one billion euros.
One part of the plan remains. The regular adjustment of Wohngeld, due on Friday 1 January 2027, will be suspended for one year. Wohngeld is normally raised every two years in line with rents and prices, so payments will not go up in 2027. Federal Building Minister Verena Hubertz said: "No household that is entitled to Wohngeld today will receive less next year." The German Tenants' Association welcomed the decision but called the missing increase a loss of purchasing power.
The coalition also agreed that the 25 euro monthly child supplement (Kindersofortzuschlag) will continue, except for families receiving asylum seeker benefits. The basic income support rate is to stay unchanged until summer 2028.
The agreement still has to pass the Bundestag budget process. The budget committee held its final session on the 2027 budget on Thursday 12 November.
What to do: if you receive Wohngeld, you do not need to do anything. Your payment continues under the current rules. If your income or rent has changed, report it to your local Wohngeld office as usual.
Sources: tagesschau.de, Deutschlandfunk
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