North Rhine-Westphalia court limits social housing cost coverage

The State Social Court of North Rhine-Westphalia (LSG NRW) has ruled on the limitations of housing cost coverage for social benefit recipients. In a recent case, a single person receiving benefits sought higher accommodation payments after the Jobcenter applied a comparison value of 562 euros, while the individual's actual gross cold rent was 840 euros.

The court rejected the request for higher benefits, stating the applicant failed to prove an unreasonable cost reduction or an imminent threat of losing their housing. Additionally, the court noted that planned visitation with children did not currently justify a higher requirement for living space.

In the proceedings, the court utilized a calculation based on the maximum amount according to § 12 of the Housing Benefit Act, plus a ten percent security surcharge, to establish the comparison value for a single-person household in rent level IV.