How to Apply for Social Housing (WBS) in Germany: Guide for Ukrainian Refugees

Find­ing afford­able hous­ing in Ger­many presents sig­nif­i­cant chal­lenges for Ukrain­ian refugees. The Wohn­berech­ti­gungss­chein (WBS) or social hous­ing cer­tifi­cate opens doors to sub­si­dized apart­ments, but nav­i­gat­ing the appli­ca­tion process can be dif­fi­cult when fac­ing lan­guage bar­ri­ers and unfa­mil­iar bureau­cra­cy.

Key Takeaways

• A WBS cer­tifi­cate grants access to gov­ern­ment-sub­si­dized hous­ing with con­trolled rent prices
• Ukrain­ian refugees with Aufen­thalt­sti­tel (res­i­dence per­mit) are eli­gi­ble to apply for WBS
• Appli­ca­tions are sub­mit­ted at your local Hous­ing Office (Woh­nungsamt) with spe­cif­ic required doc­u­ments
• Income lim­its vary by region, but are gen­er­al­ly high­er for fam­i­lies with chil­dren
• Free trans­la­tion assis­tance is avail­able through var­i­ous NGOs to help with the appli­ca­tion process

What is the Wohnberechtigungsschein (WBS)?

The Wohn­berech­ti­gungss­chein (WBS) is an offi­cial cer­tifi­cate that allows access to pub­licly sub­si­dized hous­ing in Ger­many. These gov­ern­ment-sup­port­ed apart­ments have con­trolled rent prices, mak­ing them sig­nif­i­cant­ly more afford­able than reg­u­lar mar­ket-rate hous­ing.

For Ukrain­ian refugees who arrived in Ger­many after Feb­ru­ary 2022, the WBS can be a cru­cial resource. With approx­i­mate­ly 1.2 mil­lion Ukraini­ans seek­ing pro­tec­tion in Ger­many, access to afford­able hous­ing through WBS can pro­vide much-need­ed sta­bil­i­ty dur­ing inte­gra­tion.

Eligibility Requirements for Ukrainian Refugees

To qual­i­fy for a WBS cer­tifi­cate as a Ukrain­ian refugee, you must meet sev­er­al cri­te­ria. First, you need to have a valid res­i­dence per­mit (Aufen­thalt­sti­tel) under §24 Aufen­thG or anoth­er legal sta­tus that allows you to remain in Ger­many.

Your house­hold income must fall below spe­cif­ic lim­its, which vary by region and fam­i­ly size. Gen­er­al­ly, the income thresh­olds are high­er for fam­i­lies with chil­dren or house­holds with dis­abled mem­bers.

You must also be reg­is­tered (angemeldet) at your cur­rent address. This reg­is­tra­tion, known as Anmel­dung, is a pre­req­ui­site for many offi­cial process­es in Ger­many, includ­ing the WBS appli­ca­tion.

Step-by-Step Application Process

The appli­ca­tion process requires sev­er­al steps but can be com­plet­ed with prop­er guid­ance. First, locate your local Hous­ing Office (Woh­nungsamt) in the city or dis­trict where you wish to live – this is where you’ll sub­mit your appli­ca­tion.

Obtain the appli­ca­tion form either in per­son at the Hous­ing Office or down­load it from their web­site. Many offices now offer forms with Ukrain­ian trans­la­tions or explana­to­ry guides to assist refugees.

Com­plete all sec­tions of the appli­ca­tion form accu­rate­ly, includ­ing per­son­al infor­ma­tion, cur­rent hous­ing sit­u­a­tion, and income details. Final­ly, gath­er all required doc­u­ments (list­ed in the next sec­tion) and sub­mit every­thing togeth­er at the Hous­ing Office.

Required Documents

Pre­pare the fol­low­ing doc­u­ments for your WBS appli­ca­tion. You’ll need iden­ti­fi­ca­tion doc­u­ments includ­ing your pass­port and res­i­dence per­mit for all adult house­hold mem­bers.

Income ver­i­fi­ca­tion is essen­tial, so col­lect pay stubs, job con­tracts, or ben­e­fit state­ments show­ing your finan­cial sit­u­a­tion. For Ukrain­ian refugees receiv­ing social ben­e­fits, the ben­e­fit approval notice (Leis­tungs­bescheid) from the Job­cen­ter or Social Wel­fare Office serves as income ver­i­fi­ca­tion.

You’ll also need reg­is­tra­tion cer­tifi­cates (Anmeldebescheini­gung) for all house­hold mem­bers, tax iden­ti­fi­ca­tion num­bers, and some­times a rent cer­tifi­cate from your cur­rent land­lord. If you have chil­dren, birth cer­tifi­cates or oth­er proof of guardian­ship may be required.

Language Support for the Application

With an esti­mat­ed 80% of Ukrain­ian refugees hav­ing lim­it­ed Ger­man lan­guage skills, trans­la­tion assis­tance is often nec­es­sary. Sev­er­al orga­ni­za­tions offer free trans­la­tion ser­vices specif­i­cal­ly for hous­ing-relat­ed doc­u­ments and appoint­ments.

In Berlin and Bran­den­burg, orga­ni­za­tions like Car­i­tas Berlin-Bran­den­burg, Ukraine-Hil­fe Berlin, and Berlin­er Stadt­mis­sion pro­vide doc­u­ment trans­la­tion. Sim­i­lar ser­vices are avail­able through Ukraine­hil­fe München and Car­i­tas Bay­ern in south­ern Ger­many, while refugee sup­port cen­ters in Cologne, Düs­sel­dorf, and Dort­mund assist those in west­ern regions.

When NGO sup­port isn’t avail­able, you can request trans­la­tion assis­tance through your local Social Wel­fare Office (Sozialamt). Dig­i­tal solu­tions like trans­la­tion apps specif­i­cal­ly opti­mized for Ukrain­ian-Ger­man trans­la­tion can also help with basic com­mu­ni­ca­tion needs dur­ing the appli­ca­tion process.

Processing Time and Validity

Once sub­mit­ted, WBS appli­ca­tions typ­i­cal­ly take 4–6 weeks to process, though time­lines vary by munic­i­pal­i­ty. Be pre­pared for poten­tial delays dur­ing busy peri­ods, espe­cial­ly in large cities with hous­ing short­ages.

When approved, your WBS cer­tifi­cate will include infor­ma­tion about the eli­gi­ble apart­ment size based on your house­hold com­po­si­tion. The WBS is usu­al­ly valid for 12–24 months depend­ing on the issu­ing author­i­ty, so check the expi­ra­tion date on your cer­tifi­cate.

Finding Housing With Your WBS

After receiv­ing your WBS, you can begin search­ing for suit­able hous­ing. Munic­i­pal hous­ing com­pa­nies like GEWOBAG, HOWOGE, or SAGA GWG oper­ate many social hous­ing units and should be your first con­tact.

Online hous­ing por­tals often have fil­ters for WBS-eli­gi­ble apart­ments, mak­ing it eas­i­er to find appro­pri­ate list­ings. When apply­ing for apart­ments, always men­tion your WBS sta­tus in your appli­ca­tion doc­u­ments and be pre­pared to pro­vide a copy of your cer­tifi­cate.

Remem­ber that hav­ing a WBS does­n’t guar­an­tee imme­di­ate hous­ing – it only cer­ti­fies your eli­gi­bil­i­ty. In cities with hous­ing short­ages, wait times for suit­able apart­ments can still be con­sid­er­able.

Additional Resources for Ukrainian Refugees

Beyond hous­ing assis­tance, Ukrain­ian refugees can access addi­tion­al sup­port ser­vices. The Fed­er­al Office for Migra­tion and Refugees (BAMF) pro­vides inte­gra­tion cours­es includ­ing lan­guage train­ing and ori­en­ta­tion to Ger­man soci­ety.

Many cities have ded­i­cat­ed Ukrain­ian wel­come cen­ters where advi­sors can help with var­i­ous aspects of set­tling in Ger­many. Com­mu­ni­ty groups on plat­forms like Telegram and Face­book can pro­vide peer sup­port and infor­ma­tion shar­ing about hous­ing oppor­tu­ni­ties and appli­ca­tion expe­ri­ences.

For legal ques­tions regard­ing hous­ing rights, orga­ni­za­tions like Pro Asyl and Refugee Coun­cils (Flüchtlingsräte) in each state offer free con­sul­ta­tions. Tak­ing advan­tage of these resources can sig­nif­i­cant­ly ease your inte­gra­tion process while search­ing for suit­able hous­ing.

Sources

Berlin.de — Ukraine Arrival Infor­ma­tion

Fed­er­al Office for Migra­tion and Refugees — Asy­lum and Refugee Pro­tec­tion

Car­i­tas — Ukraine Assis­tance

Germany4Ukraine Help Por­tal

Hand­book Ger­many — Ukraine Infor­ma­tion

Diakonie — Ukraine Aid

Detailed WBS Appli­ca­tion Guide 2025