Loans as income for housing allowance and notarial certification
September 20, 2010 | 25,00 EUR | answered by Dr. Dr. Danjel-Philippe Newerla
Dear lawyer,
I have applied for housing benefit for the second time. However, I am receiving a lower housing benefit amount than I did a year ago, even though nothing has changed for me.
I am currently undergoing training and do not receive any compensation for it, neither through Bafög nor through BAB. I work part-time for 300 euros a month and receive a loan of 250 euros a month from my parents, which I will have to repay after completing my training. Accordingly, a loan agreement was drawn up by us last year and I also sent this to the housing benefit office. All essential points are included in it, such as when the repayment will begin and at what rate it should occur.
The housing benefit office granted me 303 euros last year, as the loan was not counted as income. However, this year is completely different. My situation has not changed. I have submitted all documents again, which are identical to those from the previous year. This year, however, the loan is being counted as income and I am supposed to receive 194 euros.
When I inquired why this was the case, I was told that the loan agreement must be notarized by a lawyer in order to be recognized. I am somewhat confused, as the loan agreement was accepted last year but not this year. My research on the internet indicated that it is about the credibility of the repayment. However, this will only take place after I have completed my training. Last year, when I had telephone contact with my case worker, the credibility was not questioned, but this year it is. I cannot understand this, as I have chosen a training program in which I will always have a job and the repayment will happen.
Is it really necessary to have the loan agreement notarized and how much would this cost?
Thank you for answering my question.
Dear Seeker,
Thank you for your inquiry. I would like to answer it as follows:
The behavior of the authority is also incomprehensible to me. The loan would only be considered as income if the obligation to repay or the willingness to repay on their part was questionable. According to your description, this is not the case. Just because it is from your parents does not automatically question the ability to repay.
You should file an objection against the relevant decision to the extent that the given loan was counted as income. The authority contradicts itself with its own behavior. By the way, a notarial certification is not provided for by law.
The costs of such certification would be based on the total loan amount, which I unfortunately do not know. I assume that the costs will be in the range of a few hundred euros. An exact figure is not possible, as the total loan amount is unknown to me.
You should engage a colleague experienced in social law to represent your legal interests on site and file an objection against the decision. Please note that the objection period is generally one month from the delivery of the relevant decision.
I hope I have provided you with some initial legal guidance and wish you every success and all the best!
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 assessment of the situation. Adding or omitting relevant information can lead to a completely different legal assessment.
I hope my explanations have been helpful to you. Feel free to contact me via my email address or the follow-up option.
I wish you a pleasant Monday morning!
Kind regards from the North Sea coast
Dipl.-Jur. Danjel-Philippe Newerla, Attorney
Stresemannstr. 46
27570 Bremerhaven
kanzlei.newerla@web.de
Fax.0471/140244
