Housing benefit for families in Frankfurt
As of: August 2026
Yes, families can receive housing benefit (Wohngeld) in Frankfurt if the total income of all household members and the gross cold rent fit the household size and no priority transfer benefit with housing costs is received. More children raise the maximum for level VI. Child benefit and the child supplement stay outside the income assessment; maintenance, by contrast, is generally counted. The exact amount is named only in the decision notice.
More household members, a higher maximum in level VI
In Frankfurt Mietenstufe VI applies. The maximum rises with the number of countable household members: three people 887 euros, four 1,035 euros, five 1,183 euros, each further member 149 euros. Family flats in Sachsenhausen, Bockenheim or Griesheim often lie with the gross cold rent near or above these values.
That is exactly why families here more often reach the threshold than in cheaper cities: a mid-range dual income may not carry the large flat, but lies above Bürgergeld. What lies above the maximum stays uncounted. The system is under Amount and Maximum amounts.
Child benefit, child supplement and maintenance
Child benefit and the child supplement stay outside the assessment of housing-benefit income. They are therefore not entered into the sum like wages. Maintenance payments and advance maintenance payments, by contrast, generally count as receipts. The parents’ earnings enter with the statutory deductions for tax and social insurance.
A child’s own earnings under 25 can remain partly uncounted through a statutory allowance. Single parents without another adult in the household additionally follow the rules under Single parents. The general deductions are under Income and Allowances.
Which documents families typically submit
The set includes the tenancy agreement, proof of recent rent payments, identification of the adults and income evidence of all household members – payslips, tax assessments, maintenance evidence. Child-benefit notices help the authority place household composition and the child supplement, even if child benefit itself does not count as income. The filterable list is under Documents.
Whoever lives in the dwelling and bears the costs submits the application. The Housing Office (Amt für Wohnungswesen), Adickesallee 67–69, 60322 Frankfurt am Main, is responsible.
Example: four-person household with two earnings
Example for orientation, not a decision notice: two adults and two children live in a flat in Griesheim. The gross cold rent is 1,190 euros. The maximum for level VI for four people is 1,035 euros. At most 1,035 euros therefore enter the calculation; 155 euros stay uncounted. Income consists of two earnings. Child benefit stays outside the income sum.
Whether housing benefit is paid depends on countable total income – a euro amount is named only in the decision notice. Further situations: Single parents, Employees, audiences. Next: Application, Documents, Amount, Eligibility.
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