Apply for a Wohnberechtigungsschein (WBS, housing entitlement certificate)

• Wohnberechtigungsschein (WBS, housing entitlement certificate) inquiry www.berlin.de/sen/wohnen/service/wohnberechtigungsschein/ You can check in advance, without obligation, whether you are entitled to a WBS using the Wohnberechtigungsschein-Abfrage (WBS inquiry tool). • Compliance with income limits www.berlin.de/sen/wohnen/wissen-fuer-mieter/berliner-mietrat Which WBS you receive depends on the amount of your income. • Maximum size of the social housing unit Basic rule: one room per person. • Example: A married couple with three children is entitled to at most an apartment with five rooms. Exception rule: • Single persons may live in one-and-a-half or two-room apartments of up to 50 m². • Additional living space may be granted in individual cases for special personal or professional needs or hardship cases (for example, a disability or health impairments). • For persons aged 65 and over: if you vacate a 3-room apartment in Berlin, you will receive a WBS for a 2-room apartment. • Where there is a professional necessity, a separate room may be granted to secure your livelihood. • Recognition of a WBS with special housing need There are social housing units that may only be rented to WBS holders with a special housing need. A special housing need can be recognized if the housing applicant has been registered (Anmeldung) in Berlin for at least one year and meets one of the following conditions: • Inadequate housing conditions exist for households with children if at least the following number of rooms is not available: for 2 persons – at least 1 room / for 3 persons – at least 2 rooms / for 4–5 persons – at least 3 rooms / for 6 or more persons – at least 4 rooms. • Severe disability: your degree of disability (Grad der Behinderung) is 50 or more and your housing conditions are unsuitable. • Accommodation in emergency shelters: persons housed in social facilities (for example, women's shelters or refuge housing). • Persons over 65 who give up an under-occupied rented apartment (more rooms than household members). • Loss of housing through no fault of their own: persons who must vacate their rented apartment through no fault of their own (for example, due to a prohibition under building regulations or at the end of an employment or service relationship). • Recipients of benefits under SGB II and SGB XII (Grundsicherung, basic income support while seeking work, in old age, or due to reduced earning capacity): persons who have received a request from the JobCenter/Sozialamt (social welfare office) to move into an "appropriate apartment". • Nationality • You hold German nationality, or • You hold the nationality of a member state of the European Union (EU), or • You hold the nationality of a country outside the EU and have a residence permit (Aufenthaltserlaubnis) valid for at least 1 year. • You are at least 18 years old You can clarify exceptions with the responsible authority (zuständige Behörde). • Extended stay in Berlin Eligible to apply are housing applicants who reside in Berlin not merely temporarily (at least 11 months) and who are able to establish, for themselves and their household members, a long-term residence as the center of their life.

Application for a Wohnberechtigungsschein (WBS, housing entitlement certificate) You can submit the application online, or you can submit the (paper) application in writing by post. • For online applications: Please have all required documents and proof ready to upload in PDF or JPG format. The total size of your files must not exceed 30 MB. A single file may be a maximum of 5 MB. • For written applications: Please fill out the application and the enclosures. The application must be signed by all adults. Send the application and the enclosures to the district Bürgeramt (citizens' office) or Wohnungsamt (housing office) where you are registered. • Einkommenserklärung (income declaration) Please fill out the income declaration for each person. It must be signed by all adults. • Einkommensbescheinigung (income certificate) The income certificate is filled out and signed by the employer. • Identity documents (copy) of all persons named in the application • for example, Personalausweis (identity card) or foreign passports with a residence permit • Partnerschaftserklärung (partnership declaration) For unmarried persons or persons not related to one another, a partnership declaration may be necessary. • Proof of a different marital status (copy) If you are not single: for example, a divorce decree or death certificate • If your children are also named in the application: birth certificate(s) of your children (copy) • Declaration of joint custody • Vaterschaftsanerkennung (acknowledgement of paternity) (copy) for example, in the case of a domestic partnership with a joint child and a custody ruling • If you are pregnant: Mutterpass (maternity record booklet) (copy) Mutterpass with the 14th week of pregnancy entered • If you have a severe disability: front and back of the Schwerbehindertenausweis (severely disabled person's ID card) (copy) • If you are a student: Semesterbescheinigung (certificate of enrollment) (copy) For international students: also, in addition, the certificate stating the duration of studies • If you are a foreign national: proof of right of residence (copy) If you are a citizen of a European Union (EU) member state, a copy of your identity document is generally sufficient for this. If you are a citizen of another state, you need an Aufenthaltstitel (residence permit), for example an Aufenthaltserlaubnis (residence permit).

• Application for a Wohnberechtigungsschein (WBS, housing entitlement certificate) www.berlin.de/sen/stadt/_assets/service/formular-center/bere • Income declaration (Einkommenserklärung) www.berlin.de/sen/stadt/_assets/service/formular-center/bere • Notes on the income declaration (Hinweise zur Einkommenserklärung) www.berlin.de/sen/stadt/_assets/service/formular-center/bere • Income certificate (Einkommensbescheinigung) www.berlin.de/sen/stadt/_assets/service/formular-center/bere • Partnership declaration (Partnerschaftserklärung) www.berlin.de/sen/stadt/_assets/service/formular-center/bere • Declaration of joint custody (Erklärung über das gemeinsame Sorgerecht) www.berlin.de/sen/stadt/_assets/service/formular-center/bere • Declaration of personal circumstances and current housing situation (Erklärung über die persönlichen Verhältnisse und die derzeitigen Wohnverhältnisse) www.berlin.de/sen/stadt/_assets/service/formular-center/bere

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• Wohnraumförderungsgesetz (WoFG, Housing Subsidy Act) § 27 www.gesetze-im-internet.de/wofg/__27.html • Wohnungsbindungsgesetz (WoBindG, Housing Commitment Act) § 5 www.gesetze-im-internet.de/wobindg/__5.html

• Wohnberechtigungsschein-Abfrage (housing entitlement certificate inquiry) (Senatsverwaltung für Stadtentwicklung, Bauen und Wohnen [Senate Department for Urban Development, Building and Housing]) www.berlin.de/sen/wohnen/service/wohnberechtigungsschein/ • Berliner Ratgeber für Mieterinnen und Mieter (Berlin guide for tenants) (Senatsverwaltung für Stadtentwicklung, Bauen und Wohnen) www.berlin.de/sen/wohnen/wissen-fuer-mieter/berliner-mietrat • Einkommensgrenzen für den Wohnberechtigungsschein (income limits for the housing entitlement certificate) (Senatsverwaltung für Stadtentwicklung, Bauen und Wohnen) www.berlin.de/sen/wohnen/wissen-fuer-mieter/berliner-mietrat

Housing office of the district where you live. If you do not live in Berlin, a housing office can be selected.