Struggling Mother on Brink of Homelessness due to Job Centre in Germany
In a recent turn of events, a Berlin mother named Sahra M., who prefers to remain anonymous, has managed to avoid eviction from her home after a bureaucratic mishap involving her welfare payments. Sahra M., a mother of three young children, found herself in a precarious situation last year when her children's father passed away, leaving her completely alone.
The trouble began when the Berlin Jobcenters, responsible for handling rent payments for welfare recipients, faced some internal decisions that led to the first termination of Sahra M.'s welfare benefits. This unfortunate series of events caused payment arrears, eventually leading to eviction notices from her landlord, Deutsche Wohnen.
Deutsche Wohnen, a prominent real estate company in Berlin, aims to avoid evictions and proactively approaches tenants to discuss solutions. However, in Sahra M.'s case, two eviction notices were served without prior warning, and a hearing was scheduled for July 30th to set an eviction date.
The Jobcenter, upon learning of the impending eviction, took action to rectify the situation. They learned of the problem in October 2024 and temporarily suspended the rent for that month. By April this year, the rent arrears for Sahra M. were fully cleared and transferred to the landlord.
Despite this resolution, Deutsche Wohnen has expressed reluctance to waive the eviction claim, a stance that has been met with opposition from Sanktionsfrei, an association that supports people whose job center benefits have been reduced or denied. Sanktionsfrei has called for Deutsche Wohnen to drop the eviction claim if there are no payment arrears for six months.
Last Friday, Deutsche Wohnen withdrew the eviction notice for Sahra M., marking a positive end to a stressful period for the mother of three. It appears that the rent transfer issue has been resolved, with the rent being paid directly to Sahra M. since June 2025.
This incident serves as a reminder of the importance of clear and timely communication between welfare recipients and job centers to prevent such issues from arising. The job center evaluates the reasonableness of rent costs, comparing them to local average rents and requiring documentation like rental contracts and proof of income/assets to determine eligibility for rent coverage.
The framework aims to secure stable housing for welfare recipients while ensuring rent claims are appropriate to local market standards. However, any interruption in welfare rent payments must be addressed immediately to avoid the risk of homelessness. Welfare recipients are advised to maintain communication with the job center to resolve issues promptly if payments are at risk.
In contrast to the resolution of Sahra M.'s housing predicament, her personal-finance situation requires ongoing attention. Even though the rent arrears were cleared, she may still need assistance to manage her personal-finance matters. Given the unfortunate incident, it's essential for Berlin's Jobcenters to provide comprehensive financial advice and support to their clients, ensuring the stability of their personal-finance and business prospects in the future. This proactive approach could help prevent similar financial struggles among welfare recipients.
