Hartz 4 and home ownership
December 17, 2009 | 20,00 EUR | answered by Dr. Dr. Danjel-Philippe Newerla
A Hartz4 recipient (60 years old and 50% disabled) receives a gift of a condominium from his brother. The brother purchases a 50 sqm apartment for the sister (also a Hartz4 recipient). The authority (Hartz4) now wants to stop providing benefits for their living expenses, even though an agreement was made in 2006 that in this case, the Hartz4 would cover the additional costs for the apartment and living expenses.
What can the Hartz4 recipient do to receive benefits from Hartz4 again?
Dear inquirer,
Thank you for your inquiry!
Below, I would like to address your questions considering the situation you have described:
In general, donations increase the assets of the Hatrz IV recipient, so they must be reported. In extreme cases, depending on the value of the donation, the neediness may disappear and no benefits under ALG II will be paid.
However, this is different in the case of a self-occupied home. If it is an appropriate owner-occupied home, it can continue to be occupied and generally does not have to be sold. Under certain conditions, an ALG II recipient also has a basic entitlement to continue receiving housing benefit or housing costs.
I have attached a very informative link on this topic for you:
http://www.gegen-hartz.de/nachrichtenueberhartziv/53659697c40af6801.php
Additionally, the authority had agreed in 2006 to continue covering the costs in this case. If this is a formal assurance (which can only be definitively answered if the exact wording of the relevant letter is known) then there would also be a legal entitlement to the housing costs based on this assurance.
Therefore, I recommend that you first apply for this benefit and lodge an objection against any rejection. If necessary, you should be represented by a colleague experienced in social law when filing an objection.
I would like to point out the following to you:
The legal advice I have provided is based solely on the information you have provided. My response is only an initial legal assessment of the situation, which cannot replace a comprehensive evaluation of the facts.
Adding or omitting relevant information can lead to a completely different legal assessment.
I hope that my explanations have been helpful to you. You are welcome to contact me via my email address.
I wish you a pleasant Thursday afternoon!
Kind regards,
Dipl.-Jur. Danjel-Philippe Newerla, Attorney-at-Law
Heilsbergerstr. 16
27580 Bremerhaven
kanzlei.newerla@web.de
Tel. 0471/3088132
Fax. 0471/57774
