Housing benefit in a shared flat (WG)
You can get housing benefit (Wohngeld) even if you live in a shared flat (WG). The key question is whether you share finances with your flatmates – in most shared flats this is not the case, and each member forms their own household.
Your own household despite a shared flat
The Housing Benefit Act recognises the household community (Haushaltsgemeinschaft): people who live together AND share finances form one household. Flatmates in a WG usually share only the rent and utilities – they keep their finances separate. Each member then counts as their own household and can submit their own application.
Which rent counts in a shared flat?
What matters is your own share of the rent: your room plus your share of the communal areas. This share forms the basis of the housing benefit calculation – together with your own income and rent level 6 in Hamburg.
What applies when subletting
If you have your own subletting agreement with the main tenant, the sublet rent can form the basis of the calculation. The main tenant themselves receives housing benefit only for their own share of the rent – not for the flatmates' rooms.
Exception: couples share finances Couples who live together and share finances form a joint household even without being married – legally a cohabitation community (Einstandsgemeinschaft). They submit a joint application, and both incomes are considered together.
Frequently asked questions
As a flatmate in a WG, can I get housing benefit?
Yes. If you keep your finances separate in your shared flat – that is, you only share the rent and utilities – you form your own household and can submit your own application with your share of the rent.
How is my rent calculated in a shared flat?
What counts is your own share: the room plus a proportionate share of the communal areas. If you have your own subletting agreement, the sublet rent is the basis.
What applies to couples in a shared flat?
Couples who share finances form one household – they submit a joint application, and both incomes are added together.