Housing assistance helps you pay your rent or reduce your housing costs if you own your own home and live in it.

If your financial situation improves, you are generally required to report this. In that case, your entitlement to housing assistance may be reduced.

There can be various reasons for this improvement:

• The total income of all household members increases.
• Your rent or your housing costs (excluding heating costs) decrease.
• There are fewer eligible individuals living in your household.

The responsible agency may also reduce or cancel your housing allowance on its own initiative if it learns of the change through other means. In this case, it is referred to as “ex officio.”

The authority may become aware of the change, for example, through:

• data cross-checks
• a new housing allowance application from the person who moved out
• Inquiries with the employer

The improvement must be long-term, meaning it must last for more than 2 months.

If the rent or mortgage payment decreases, or if the value of the home increases, the responsible authority may reclaim part of the housing allowance that was paid.