Housing Eligibility Certificate and Assignment of an Apartment; Application

The housing eligibility certificate is issued upon application by the competent authority (district offices, independent cities, major county seats, or “major delegated municipalities”). Designation as such also requires the submission of such an application.

A distinction is made between the general and the targeted housing eligibility certificates.

• With a general housing eligibility certificate , a person seeking housing can , in principle, apply for a suitable subsidized (social) rental apartment anywhere in Bavaria. The general housing eligibility certificate precisely describes the scope of housing eligibility (in particular, the number of household members and the appropriate apartment size).
• The targeted housing eligibility certificate is issued only for a specific apartment.

Certain subsidized rental units—particularly public housing units in areas designated by regulation as having a high demand for housing—may only be allocated to a housing applicant designated by the competent authority for that specific unit. In these cases, a housing eligibility certificate is not required.

The housing eligibility certificate is issued to the person seeking housing and the members of their household; in addition to spouses and children, this also includes certain other individuals with whom the person shares a common household and financial life. A prerequisite for the issuance of a housing eligibility certificate (and also for designation as a tenant) is therefore, in particular, that

• the person seeking housing is legally and factually able to establish a long-term residence for the household, and
• the household’s total income does not exceed the applicable income limits.

The specific income limits depend on the particular apartment. For more information on income limits, see “Related Topics” – “Subsidized Rental Housing.” To promote a diverse resident population, there is no uniform income limit for obtaining subsidized rental housing in Bavaria.

There is no deadline for submitting an application.

• Since eligibility for housing applies to all household members, appropriate documentation must be submitted for each household member, particularly regarding household membership and income.

• Proof of household membership for all household members
  The right to housing applies to all household members.
• Proof of income for all household members
  The right to reside extends to all members of the household.

• Fee for a specific apartment: 12.50 to 25.00 euros
  (Rate No. 2.I.2/2 of the Schedule to Section 1 of the Schedule of Fees)
• Issuance of a housing eligibility certificate: 7.50 to 20.00 euros; in certain exceptional cases: 15.00 to 45.00 euros
  (Rate Nos. 2.I.2/3, 3.1, and 3.2 of the Appendix to Section 1 of the Schedule of Fees)