Written under our editorial standards.
Targeted source review: 12 October 2026. The specified provisions and linked-tool limits were checked; this is not a complete legal audit or an individual entitlement decision.
Section 22 covers accommodation and heating. The one-year grace period applies to accommodation, not heating. It has a 150% local-limit rule, individual exceptions, possible per-square-metre ceilings and restrictions on unlawful rent; it does not guarantee any warm rent.
The grace year and its limits — Section 22(1)
- Length
- One year from the start of the month for which benefits are first drawn.
- What is paid during it
- Actual accommodation costs during the grace period, subject to statutory limits and exceptions; heating appropriateness is checked from the outset.
- A ceiling that holds even inside it
- The general rule excludes the part above 150% of the abstract local limit. During the grace period, higher unavoidable costs or costs in households with children may be considered individually; neither approval nor rejection is automatic.
- Interruption extends it
- A break in payment of a month or more extends the period by the full months without benefits.
- A fresh period
- Starts from zero after three years without benefits under Book II or Book XII.
- An exception inside it
- Higher costs may be recognised where they are unavoidable or arise in a household with children.
After the year: the six-month rule and what stops it
When the grace period ends and your costs turn out to exceed what is appropriate, payment does not stop at once. The statute requires the excess to be recognised for as long as reducing it is impossible or unreasonable — by moving, by subletting or otherwise — as a rule for at most six months.
The accommodation grace year is not deducted from a cost-reduction period. This does not promise payment of any rent for 18 months: limits, exceptions and heating appropriateness remain relevant.
Then two provisions stop a reduction demand outright:
- A death — if a member of the household dies and the costs were appropriate beforehand, reducing them for the dwelling still lived in is unreasonable for at least twelve months after the month of death.
- A reduction need not be demanded if uneconomic considering moving costs. This is an individual assessment, not a permanent automatic exemption.
And before any of that: where your costs exceed the appropriate level, the municipal body must notify you and inform you of the duration and conditions on which inappropriate costs are recognised. A reduction letter without that information is incomplete.
Before you sign: the prior assurance
This is the most consequential part of the whole provision. Before concluding a new tenancy you should obtain an assurance from the municipal body responsible for the new address. The consequence is explicit: costs higher than the appropriate level are not recognised after a move unless the body assured them in writing in advance.
And if the move is within the same area and was not necessary, no more than your previous requirement is recognised — an unnecessary move never raises your ceiling.
For under-25 moves, prior assurance matters. Serious social reasons, employment integration or comparable grounds can require it to be granted; where those grounds exist, a compelling reason for being unable to obtain assurance can permit an exception.
As for the move itself: housing-search and removal costs can be recognised with prior assurance from the old body, while the deposit and cooperative shares need an assurance from the body at the new address — and are to be provided as a loan, not a grant.
When rent falls into arrears: three protections few people know
Direct payment to the landlord. You are entitled to ask for the accommodation payment to go straight to the landlord. It moreover should be paid directly where proper use is not assured — the stated examples include rent arrears justifying extraordinary termination, energy arrears justifying disconnection, and concrete indications of an inability caused by illness or addiction. The body must notify you of this in writing.
Taking over debts. Housing debts may be taken over where justified in order to secure the accommodation or relieve a comparable emergency. They moreover should be taken over where this is justified and necessary and homelessness would otherwise follow. Available assets are used first, and the money is normally provided as a loan.
Courts notify the competent body in the specified rent-arrears eviction cases, except where non-payment evidently does not result from inability to pay. Notify the office yourself early; notification does not guarantee debt repayment or stop eviction.
What to do, and when
- Work out today when your grace period endsOne year from the start of the first month of payment, plus every full month in which payment was interrupted. Write the date down — decisions will not remind you.
- Check the local limits Request the written local standard. The 150% rule is not the only restriction: square-metre and lawful-rent limits may apply. Submit evidence for any individual exception.
- Seek assurance before signing Higher-than-appropriate post-move costs require prior written assurance. Under-25 exceptions are conditional; do not assume that any later assurance repairs every case or is always legally impossible.
- Ask for the deposit expressly, as a loanIt falls to the municipal body at the new address, not the old one, and is to be provided as a loan.
- If a reduction letter arrives, check the notification firstThe body must tell you that costs exceed the appropriate level and inform you of the duration and conditions — and the grace year does not count towards the six months.
- Notify rent arrears early Ask for direct payment and assessment of debt takeover. Court notification is limited to the specified arrears-termination cases and has an exception where inability to pay is not the cause. Notify the office yourself.
The grace year covers accommodation, not heating. The 150% rule has individual grace-period exceptions; having children permits assessment, not automatic payment of any amount. Check square-metre and lawful-rent restrictions too.
Official sources
Section 22 SGB II — accommodation and heating · Section 20 SGB II
Please note: this page is general guidance, not legal advice. Every decision follows an individual assessment of your case, and the amounts are set by regulations that change annually — read your own decision letter and consult a social advice centre or a lawyer specialising in social law before acting.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Jobcenter pay the rent?
Yes, under section 22 and an individual decision. The grace year is for accommodation only and subject to the 150% rule, individual exceptions, square-metre and lawful-rent restrictions. Heating is checked from the outset.
How long is the grace period?
One year from the start of the month for which benefits were first drawn. An interruption of a month or more extends it by the full months without payment, and a fresh period begins after three years without benefits.
What happens after it ends if my rent is high?
The excess is recognised for as long as reducing it is impossible or unreasonable, as a rule for at most six months — and the grace year is not counted towards them.
Do I need approval before moving?
Yes. You should obtain an assurance from the municipal body responsible for the new address before signing. Costs above the appropriate level are not recognised after a move without a prior written assurance.
Is the tenancy deposit paid?
It can be recognised with prior assurance from the body responsible at the new address, and the statute provides that it should normally be given as a loan rather than a grant.
Can the rent be paid directly to the landlord?
Yes, on your application. It moreover should be where proper use is not assured — for instance rent arrears justifying termination or energy arrears justifying disconnection.
A family member has died — will I be asked to move?
If costs were appropriate before the death, reducing them for the dwelling still occupied is unreasonable for at least 12 months after the death month. This is not automatic approval of a new dwelling or higher rent.
Sources for this review and how to use them
Compare the facts and inputs with the official decision. Retain evidence and separate an estimate from entitlement; source pages may change.