In many municipalities in Saxony-Anhalt, applications for housing benefit are piling up. As a survey by the German Press Agency shows, some municipalities received more than four times as many applications in the first three months of this year than in the same period last year. When the housing benefit reform was announced last year, cities and municipalities had expected applications to triple. In some regions in Saxony-Anhalt, however, there are significantly more.
In the state capital of Magdeburg, the number of first-time applications recorded at the beginning of the year rose by 57 percent, according to information sent to the Magdeburg city council. This corresponds to almost a sevenfold increase in the number of applications. In the Stendal district, too, there are currently more than 2,000 more applications than in the previous year in the district administration. According to the district, there were ten times as many applications in the first three months as in the same period of 2022. District administrator Patrick Puhlmann (SPD) criticized the enormous amount of work without additional funds being made available by the federal government.
Many districts in Saxony-Anhalt described the current situation as “tense” when asked by the dpa. “The situation is not expected to ease,” said Köthen (Anhalt-Bitterfeld district). “It is more likely that the number of open applications will deteriorate and the processing times will increase.” The average processing time is currently between two and three months. Since applications are often submitted incompletely, it can sometimes take about six months, according to the city of Halle.
There were also problems with the software provided. The city of Eisleben (Mansfeld-Südharz district) announced that this led to resentment and a lack of understanding among those receiving housing benefit. Many cities and municipalities had prepared for the increased number of applications and hired or dismissed additional staff in advance. The district of Börde reported that employees currently have to work overtime to process the applications. From Halberstadt it was said: “It can be seen that, despite the increase in staff, there is a backlog in processing.”
Since the beginning of the year, more households are to be relieved with a state rent subsidy: up to 1.4 million more households in Germany are to be added to the 600,000 housing benefit households so far. The housing allowance is also to be increased by an average of 190 euros per month. This means that eligible households receive an average of around 370 euros per month. Households that do not receive social benefits but still have little money can apply for housing benefit.
