Apply for a Berlin WBS

A WBS is the certificate that lets you rent subsidised housing in Berlin. It is free, valid for one year, and valid across all of Berlin — not just the district that issued it.We fill the official German forms with your answers. You print them, sign, and post them.

Berlin has its own online application, and it works

Use it if you read German. Ours exists because theirs is German-only, explains none of the terms, and won't warn you that your employer has to complete a separate certificate. If that isn't a problem for you, theirs is fine.Berlin's own application ↗

What this does not do

It does not submit your application, decide it, or find you a flat. It is filling assistance, not legal advice.

Your answers never leave this browser — no names, no income, no residence status is sent to a server. Clearing your browser data loses your progress.

You can save your answers to a file at any point and load them back later.Load answers from a file

Which forms get filled in

Which of these you need follows from your answers. You do not have to know in advance — the assistant only shows what applies to you.

BauWohn 502: The application itself: household, address, special housing need.
BauWohn 504: The income declaration — one per person in the household, including children with no income.
BauWohn 504a: The earnings certificate. Your employer fills this one in, one per job.
BauWohn 549: Declaration of permanent separation, if you are married but living apart.
BauWohn 549a: Declaration about sharing care of a child with the other parent.
BauWohn 550: Declaration of partnership, if you are not living together yet.

What to have to hand

Your ID or residence permit, your latest payslip or pension statement, and your current address with the date you moved in. Amounts are gross — once for the last twelve months, once for the month you apply.