Social organisations are warning that Germany’s planned welfare reforms could make the country’s homelessness problem significantly worse.
An alliance of welfare organisations – including Sozialverband Deutschland (SoVD), Diakonie, Deutscher Mieterbund, and Verdi – has signed an open letter to the Bundestag urging politicians to halt planned reforms to Germany’s welfare system.
The organisations warn that the proposed reforms to the citizen’s income benefit (Bürgergeld) could increase homelessness, especially among vulnerable groups such as families with children, pregnant women and people with disabilities.
Earlier this month Germany’s federal coalition government moved forward with plans for a sweeping Bürgergeld reform, which would see harsher sanctions, including the complete withdrawal of housing support, applied to recipients who fail to meet certain obligations.
This would mean the removal a fundamental safety net for many who rely on the benefit to secure and maintain housing, potentially leading to more evictions and an increase in homelessness.
The welfare organisations also warned the reforms could make landlords more reluctant to rent to welfare recipients, further restricting access to affordable housing in an already tight market.
READ ALSO: Who will be affected by Germany’s Bürgergeld reform?
The letter adds that depriving people of their homes strips them of security, dignity, and prospects for stability, a situation described as morally unjustifiable.
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Homelessness already rising in Germany
Current figures show that homelessness in Germany is already at an alarming level.
As of January 2025 nearly 475,000 people were officially recorded as homeless – an eight percent increase compared to the previous year, according to Germany’s statistics office (Destatis).
German authorities describe this group as “accommodated due to homelessness” (untergebracht wegen Wohnungslosigkeit), which means they have lost their permanent home and depend on institutional support for shelter, such as in homeless shelters, or other forms of temporary housing.
Younger people are disproportionately affected, according to the figures, with 41 percent of the homeless population under the age of 25.
Immigrants, particularly Ukrainians, also represent a significant portion – 86 percent of the homeless in shelters are foreigners, with nearly 30 percent from Ukraine.
READ ALSO: Which countries in Europe are better at integrating immigrants?
Families also make up a large part of the homeless population. Couples with children account for about 34 percent and single parents 17 percent.
Regional disparities in homelessness exist in Germany, with North Rhine-Westphalia, Baden-Württemberg, and Berlin reporting the highest numbers of homeless people across the country.
North Rhine-Westphalia, as Germany’s most populous state, has the highest number of homeless people. But Berlin has the highest per‑capita rate of homelessness in the country.
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