How to live in subsidized housing and the rules

In Emsdetten, a town with about 36.ooo inhabitants, people have the opportunity to apply for living in subsidized housing. But how does it work, how do people apply for it and under which conditions do people have to live to make use of it? To make use of subsidized housing people need a certificate of eligibility for a council flat (in German: Wohnberechtigungsschein). To get this certificate, people have to meet several conditions. In a single household the net income must not exceed 1.800€. When two people live together their net income combined has to be under 2.700€. When parents live with one child the net income including child benefit must not exceed 3.340€. The more children a family has, the higher the number becomes. Not only families or people of a certain age can apply for the certificate. Pensioners whose income is too low, young people who study or are trainees, disabled people and single parents are able to apply for the certificate as well. That means that not only people that do not earn enough money can apply …

Read More →

Subsidized housing in Emsdetten

Emsdetten is a town in the district of Steinfurt, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It has about 36.000 inhabitants. Even though the town has many companies that provide work places, 3.7 percent – which are 1.332 people – of the population are unemployed, and the number has increased since September 2019. Furthermore, many people work in jobs where their income is not enough to pay for their rent and to care for themselves. Regarding to that, there are people that need to apply for subsidized housing. As the city hall of Emsdetten says, more than half of the inhabitants have applied for subsidized housing and do need it. Why do people apply for subsidized housing? When people are not able to take care of themselves – maybe their children as well – and to pay for their rent due to their low income, they need help from the government so that they have the ability to care for them and their families. Therefore towns provide social housings that are either built for low-income people or that have a low rent so people …

Read More →