Gross cold rent: what housing benefit recognises as rent
As of: August 2026
Gross cold rent (Bruttokaltmiete) in housing-benefit law is the contractually agreed rent plus cold service charges. Heating, hot water, electricity and costs for a garage or parking space do not belong to it. If this amount is above the maximum for Mietenstufe VI, only the maximum counts. The actual heating-cost statement does not replace the statutory heating-cost component and must not artificially inflate the cold rent.
Definition for the application
Housing benefit does not calculate with the amount that leaves the account each month if heat, electricity or a parking space are inside it. The starting point is the gross cold rent: net cold rent (basic rent) plus cold service charges that are apportioned independently of the consumption of heat and electricity.
This figure is then capped at the maximum. The table for level VI is under Maximum amounts. How it enters the formula is explained in the calculation.
What belongs in the gross cold rent
Typical components, insofar as they are assigned to cold rent in the tenancy agreement or the service-charge statement:
- the agreed basic rent (net cold rent)
- water and drainage, insofar as they are not billed through hot water
- refuse collection, street cleaning, winter service
- caretaker, building cleaning, garden care
- common electricity for the hallway and outdoor lighting, not electricity in the flat
- property and liability insurance of the building, insofar as it is apportionable
- the tenant’s share of property tax, insofar as it is shown as a service charge
What expressly stays outside
The following items do not belong to the gross cold rent and must not be counted into the rent in the application:
- heating and fuel, including as a monthly advance
- hot water, insofar as it is shown separately or included in the heating-cost statement
- household electricity in the flat
- garage, parking space, underground parking, even if the same contract shows them
- cable, internet or similar extras that are not cold service charges
- furniture supplements, insofar as they are not part of the basic rent but agreed separately
Contract, statement and payment evidence
If the monthly debit differs from the sum of basic rent and cold service charges, the housing-benefit split counts, not the bank statement alone. A current rent certificate or the last service-charge statement makes the split visible.
After a rent increase the gross cold rent changes only when the new basic rent or the new advance has taken effect. Which evidence the office expects is under Documents.
Subtenancy, shared flat and furnished dwelling
In a subtenancy the cold rent paid to the head tenant is decisive – without pass-through heating and electricity shares, insofar as they are identifiable. In a shared flat your own share counts, not the total rent of the head contract, if separate households exist.
In furnished living space an inseparable furniture share often belongs to the basic rent. A separately shown parking space stays outside. The household boundary is under Household members.
Capping and type of benefit
Gross cold rent is the input figure for the rent subsidy. For an owner subsidy the housing burden takes its place; the maximum amounts are the same. If the gross cold rent exceeds the table value, only the maximum plus energy components enter the formula.
A very high cold rent therefore does not raise housing benefit without limit. Conversely, a moderate rent below the maximum together with low income can carry a subsidy. The logic of the amount remains tied to the three factors.
Common allocation errors
Anyone who enters the whole standing order as “rent” mixes cold rent and energy. That distorts the cap and leads to follow-up questions. Anyone who conversely leaves out cold service charges sets the rent too low.
The authority clarifies unclear contracts from the documents, not from an estimate. For dwellings in Frankfurt am Main the Housing Office (Amt für Wohnungswesen), Adickesallee 67–69, 60322 Frankfurt am Main, decides. Terms are explained in the Glossary.
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