🏚️ Wegweiser Homeless people

15 topic pages for people who are homeless or without a permanent home in Germany, and for anyone who advises them. Each page first explains the topic briefly and clearly – and below that in detail, with deadlines, legal bases and figures.

How this page works. At the top you can search all topics by keyword. Each topic page begins with the section In brief in plain language. Below that you will find the most important deadlines, typical mistakes and a collapsible specialist section "In depth" for advisory work, with legal bases and figures.

As of September 2026. Accommodating homeless people in Germany is not a task regulated uniformly at federal level, but depends on the public-order law of the respective federal state and on the practice of each municipality – unlike, for example, basic income support (Grundsicherungsgeld) or health insurance, which apply uniformly nationwide. Where a statement could not be verified beyond doubt from official sources or differs between municipalities/states, this is expressly noted on the page concerned instead of being guessed. This information is not a substitute for legal advice.

Frequently searched

🧭 Your rights at a glance: homeless (wohnungslos) and roofless (obdachlos) 🏛️ Public-order accommodation ❄️ Emergency overnight shelter and cold-weather aid 🏠 Avoiding loss of your home: rent arrears and eviction 📝 Basic income support (Grundsicherungsgeld/Bürgergeld) without a fixed address 🪪 ID card without a fixed address 🚑 Health care for homeless people 📞 Advice and points of contact

All topic areas

🧭Overview and basicsGetting started: what homelessness means legally.1 topic 🏚️Accommodation and emergency helpPublic-order accommodation, cold-weather aid, avoiding loss of your home.3 topics 💶Benefits and housingBasic income support (Grundsicherungsgeld) without a fixed address, finding your own home.2 topics 🪪Documents and authoritiesPostal address, registration law and ID card without a permanent address.2 topics 🩺HealthHealth insurance and medical care without a permanent address.2 topics ⚖️Legal protection and public spaceDebt, eviction, orders to leave a place and begging.2 topics 👨‍👩‍👧Family and workChildren in housing need, protection from violence, job search.2 topics 📞Advice and points of contactSpecialist advice centres, street social work, day centres.1 topic

🧭 Overview and basics

Getting started: what homelessness means legally.

🧭Your rights at a glance: homeless (wohnungslos) and roofless (obdachlos)In Germany, homelessness is a matter for the states: there is no nationwide "homelessness act", but an interplay of municipal public-order law and benefits under SGB II/SGB XII.

🏚️ Accommodation and emergency help

Public-order accommodation, cold-weather aid, avoiding loss of your home.

🏛️Public-order accommodationIf you are homeless involuntarily, your municipality is obliged under the respective state law to provide temporary accommodation – this is danger prevention, not a tenancy. ❄️Emergency overnight shelter and cold-weather aidCold-weather aid and emergency sleeping places are mostly voluntary, charitable services – they supplement, but do not replace, your municipality's year-round duty to provide public-order accommodation. 🏠Avoiding loss of your home: rent arrears and evictionMost cases of homelessness begin with rent arrears. If you act immediately after a termination notice, you can often still save your home – for example through the Jobcenter or Sozialamt taking over the debt.

💶 Benefits and housing

Basic income support (Grundsicherungsgeld) without a fixed address, finding your own home.

📝Basic income support (Grundsicherungsgeld/Bürgergeld) without a fixed addressNot having a fixed address is no ground for exclusion from basic income support (Grundsicherungsgeld/Bürgergeld): the Jobcenter at your actual place of stay is responsible. 🔑Finding your own home: specialist advice and Housing First§§ 67 ff. SGB XII establish an entitlement in principle to help with the housing search – Housing First is a method here, not a statutory entitlement of its own.

🪪 Documents and authorities

Postal address, registration law and ID card without a permanent address.

✉️Postal address and contact with authorities without a fixed addressIf you live in an emergency shelter, you must register there as normal. If you have no shelter at all, you should use c/o addresses or the poste restante (Postlagernd) service – there is no nationwide exception from the registration obligation. 🪪ID card without a fixed addressWithout a home, the ID card authority at your temporary place of stay is responsible; if you are in need, the fee can be reduced or waived.

🩺 Health

Health insurance and medical care without a permanent address.

🩺Health insurance without a fixed addressMost people are covered by statutory health insurance through the statutory fallback insurance, regardless of residence status – for contribution debts there are reduction options, but no general waiver. 🚑Health care for homeless peopleEmergency medical care is accessible regardless of insurance status and papers. Specialised street clinics additionally offer low-threshold, partly anonymous treatment.

⚖️ Legal protection and public space

Debt, eviction, orders to leave a place and begging.

📉Debt and homelessnessRent arrears are the most common cause of imminent loss of housing. Debt counselling is a municipal discretionary or target ("should") service and should be involved as early as possible. ⚖️Rights in public space: orders to leave and beggingThere is no nationwide ban on begging; silent begging is considered permitted common use under the prevailing case law. Orders to leave a place (Platzverweis) must be proportionate and relate to a concrete danger.

👨‍👩‍👧 Family and work

Children in housing need, protection from violence, job search.

👨‍👩‍👧Children and housing need: youth welfare office and women's sheltersAccommodating families remains primarily the task of the Ordnungsamt. The Jugendamt (youth welfare office) intervenes only where the child's welfare is additionally at risk; women's shelters are open regardless of housing status. 💼Work despite homelessnessNot having a fixed address is no ground for exclusion from job placement. Practical hurdles such as a postal address or opening a bank account can usually be solved with a c/o address and a basic account.

📞 Advice and points of contact

Specialist advice centres, street social work, day centres.

📞Advice and points of contactSpecialist advice centres, street social work and day centres are the most important points of contact – the services available vary greatly from place to place.

For reference

📕Keyword indexAll terms from A to Z, with links to the matching topic pages. 📜Sources and methodWhere the information comes from and what is expressly uncertain. 🏠Other target groupsTo the overview of all Wegweiser portals.

A question about your situation that this page does not answer? Write to us or use the contact form – we will tell you which office is responsible and what to bring. Free of charge, without individual legal advice.