🏛️ Public-order accommodation
In brief
If you involuntarily find yourself without shelter, the municipality can temporarily place you in an emergency shelter. The legal basis is not a federal law, but the respective state police or public-order law – for example Art. 7 Abs. 2 Nr. 3 Landesstraf- und Verordnungsgesetz (LStVG) in Bavaria or § 14 Ordnungsbehördengesetz (OBG) in North Rhine-Westphalia. The placement is made by administrative act (placement order, Einweisungsverfügung) and as a rule does not create a tenancy under the Civil Code (BGB), but a right of use under public law.
Step by step
- Report to the OrdnungsamtReport in person to your municipality's Ordnungsamt; outside office hours, emergency services or the police can be reached in many places.
- Show that you are homeless involuntarilyThe entitlement exists only in cases of involuntary homelessness – describe your situation as concretely as possible.
- Receive the placement orderAccommodation is usually arranged at short notice and often informally or verbally; you can request a written notice of decision (Bescheid) afterwards.
- Follow the house rulesThe municipality's usage/house rules apply in the shelter, not the tenancy law of the BGB.
- Seek legal protection if refusedIf accommodation is refused, you can lodge an objection (Widerspruch) and, because of urgency, apply for interim legal protection at the administrative court (§ 123 VwGO).
Deadlines
- There is no uniform nationwide basis for entitlement – the exact legal basis and administrative practice depend on the respective state and often on the individual municipality.
- An entitlement exists only in cases of INVOLUNTARY homelessness; if you refuse reasonable accommodation, you generally have no entitlement to other accommodation.
- Accommodation as a rule does not create a tenancy under the BGB, but a right of use under public law according to the municipal usage bylaw – the usual tenant protection rights do not in principle apply.
- A leading decision of the highest court (BVerwG) on the duty to provide accommodation could not be verified beyond doubt in this research; the duty is derived in the specialist literature and in settled lower-court case law of the administrative courts.
In depth · legal basis, figures and practice – for advisers and professionals
Legal bases in the states
Since danger prevention is a matter for the states (Art. 30, 70 GG), public-order accommodation relies on the general clauses of the respective state police and public-order acts, not on a special statutory provision on homelessness. Examples: Art. 7 Abs. 2 Nr. 3 Landesstraf- und Verordnungsgesetz (LStVG) Bavaria, § 14 Ordnungsbehördengesetz (OBG) North Rhine-Westphalia, the general clause of the Lower Saxony Police and Public Order Authorities Act (NPOG) and the general clause of the Berlin General Security and Public Order Act (ASOG). Since these are general clauses, accommodating homeless people is one of several applications of general danger prevention, not a specifically named benefit entitlement.
Legal nature of the placement
Placement in an emergency shelter is made by administrative act (often as a placement order, Einweisungsverfügung, and for general emergency-shelter arrangements also as a general ruling, Allgemeinverfügung). This creates a right of use under public law, not a tenancy within the meaning of the BGB – compulsory placement is possible even without the consent of the person concerned and is primarily designed as a stopgap.
Scope of the entitlement
According to the prevailing view, the authority's discretion is reduced to zero in cases of involuntary homelessness – the municipality must act. However, the entitlement covers only the so-called "civilisational minimum" (protection from the weather, basic sanitation), not a particular quality or location of accommodation. Practitioner sources assume that the entitlement applies around the clock, i.e. it is not limited to overnight accommodation only.
Legal protection
A refusal of accommodation can be challenged. Because of the typical urgency, legal protection in practice is usually sought through an application for interim legal protection at the competent administrative court (§ 123 VwGO), not through the regular objection procedure.
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.