Homelessness; taking advantage of assistance to avoid it

If you are threatened with losing your home and are unable to find new accommodation on your own or have become homeless due to a sudden event, the local authority can provide you with various forms of assistance.

If you are threatened with homelessness due to any circumstances whatsoever (e.g. due to an eviction action) because you cannot reasonably obtain adequate accommodation yourself, in particular by using your own material or financial resources or by taking advantage of other offers of assistance, you should contact your local authority as soon as possible. They can then look into measures to prevent you from becoming homeless. Your local authority can also provide you with additional information about the many possible solutions available. The same applies if you have already become homeless due to a sudden event (e.g. a house fire).

In the event that there is no other option and you have to be temporarily placed in emergency accommodation by the local authority, for example in a container, we would like to draw your attention to the following:

Accommodation by the municipality is always only a temporary measure. The emergency accommodation must therefore only meet the minimum requirements for decent accommodation. According to established case law, extensive restrictions on housing requirements must be accepted in the case of accommodation within the framework of homeless care. You cannot demand "homelike care".

• Identity card or passport
• Proof of legal residence in Germany (residence permit)

  for foreign aid seekers

• Income documents

  (Wage or salary slips, notices of unemployment/citizenship benefits or proof of application for unemployment/citizenship benefits, last pension notice(s), proof of receipt of social assistance or application for social assistance, proof of sickness benefit or application for sickness benefit, notice of child-raising benefit or proof of application for child-raising benefit, proof of child benefit or proof of application for child benefit, etc.)

• proof of debts
• Credit agreements
• Attachments
• Evidence of maintenance payments
• Maintenance agreements
• Appropriate documentation showing acute homelessness

  z. E.g. eviction action, eviction judgement (court order); bailiff's notice of eviction date; other proof of loss of accommodation

• Social assistance application (if applicable)

Impending homelessness or already homeless with no prospect of new accommodation.

Contact the responsible municipality as soon as possible.