What a WBS is
A Wohnberechtigungsschein (WBS) shows that your household's income is within a limit. A social flat may only be let to someone whose WBS fits it, and its listing says which WBS that is. A WBS gets you no flat by itself: you apply as for any other.
The five WBS in Berlin
The number is how far the household's income may go, as a share of the federal limit. The higher it is, the fewer the flats that take it: each WBS fits the flats that ask for it or a higher one.
WBS 100 is the federal limit. WBS 140 is Berlin's general limit, with which nearly every social flat can be rented. WBS 160 is for new social flats funded with income-related grants since 2015, WBS 180 for further new social flats and funded shares in a housing cooperative, WBS 220 for a smaller part of the social flats still to be finished, for middle incomes.
| Persons | WBS 100 | WBS 140 | WBS 160 | WBS 180 | WBS 220 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12,000 | 16,800 | 19,200 | 21,600 | 26,400 |
| 2 | 18,000 | 25,200 | 28,800 | 32,400 | 39,600 |
| 3 | 22,100 | 30,940 | 35,360 | 39,780 | 48,620 |
| 4 | 26,200 | 36,680 | 41,920 | 47,160 | 57,640 |
| 5 | 30,300 | 42,420 | 48,480 | 54,540 | 66,660 |
| each child, on top | 500 | 700 | 800 | 900 | 1,100 |
Which income counts
- What each person in the household expects to earn in the 12 months from the application, before tax. The office may start from the last 12 months instead.
- Less the costs of earning it: as a lump sum €1,230 for a job, €102 for a pension, or more if you prove it.
- Less 10 % for each of income tax, health insurance and pension insurance the person pays: at most 30 %.
- Less the allowances: €4,000 for a young married couple, €600 for each child under 12 if you live alone with your children and work or train, up to €600 of the own income of a child of 16 to 24, €4,500 or €2,100 for a severely disabled person, and the maintenance you pay.
Kindergeld doesn't count. Some benefits count only in part, the grant part of BAföG for half, for one; the office works them out.
Who counts as your household
Everyone who moves in and lives and keeps house with you: your spouse or partner, relatives in a direct line such as parents, children and grandchildren, brothers and sisters, the same on your partner's side, and foster children. Someone who is to join soon counts too.
Flatmates can't apply for one WBS together, and two WBS can't be combined.
Who can apply
- You're 18 or older.
- You are a German or EU citizen, or hold a residence permit valid for at least a year.
- You're in Berlin for more than a short stay, at least 11 months, and can keep a home of your own here.
How to apply in Berlin
- Apply online at the Service-Portal Berlin, or send the form with your documents to the Bürgeramt or Wohnungsamt of the district you're registered in. Moving to Berlin? To any Berlin Wohnungsamt you choose.
- The Wohnungsamt works out your income and decides which WBS you get.
- The WBS is free, usually valid for a year, all over Berlin. It says how many rooms you may have: one per person.
The documents
- The application (BauWohn 502), signed by everyone of age.
- An income declaration for each person (BauWohn 504), with the income statement their employer fills in (BauWohn 504a).
- A copy of the ID of everyone on the application.
- Depending on your case: a partnership declaration (BauWohn 550), the children's birth certificates, a declaration of joint custody (BauWohn 549), proof of your family status such as a divorce decree, the Mutterpass from week 14, the severely disabled ID, a certificate of enrolment, proof of your right of residence.
WBS with a special housing need
Some social flats are only for WBS holders with a special housing need (besonderer Wohnbedarf), such as a family in a flat too small for it, who have been registered in Berlin for at least a year. The office notes it on the WBS; this calculator doesn't check it.