It’s not yet clear how expensive the increase and extension of housing benefit will be next year, but Finance Minister Christian Lindner is certain: he wants to stick to the debt brake again in 2023. “The debt brake is on,” he says the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF).
On Friday, Chancellor Olaf Solz (SPD) announced that from next year more tenants will be entitled to housing benefits. However, he did not provide details. Scholz had previously coordinated his proposal with Lindner. The details are still being negotiated between the relevant federal government ministries.
According to information from the BMF, a supplementary budget is not necessary for the 2023 federal budget, which was approved by the cabinet in early July and is due to be introduced in the Bundestag in early September. In case of housing benefit reform, the Ministry of Finance will adjust the corresponding budget appropriations during the parliamentary process. In addition, the burden on the federal budget would be limited, because the federal states would have to bear half of the costs.
Pensioners and students are the main beneficiaries
According to the Federal Statistical Office, in 2020 almost 620,000 households in Germany received housing benefit. The federal and state governments spent €1.3 billion for this purpose. This is about 9.5% of all households. The amount of housing benefit depends on the income of the household and its size.
On Friday, Soltz announced that the number of people eligible for housing benefit would increase. Pensioners and students will especially benefit. He also said that in future a flat-rate heating allowance would be permanently integrated into housing allowance.
Source: Capital
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