Housing benefit backlog in Leipzig: the mountain of applications just won’t get any smaller

How long does it actually take to clear the huge backlog of housing benefit applications in Leipzig? By 2023, the processing time for housing benefit applications had already risen to half a year. The city itself now puts the figure at nine months. And this naturally raises the question – one which was, of course, also posed at the council meeting on 2 September by a Leipzig resident who cannot understand why the city simply cannot get the backlog of applications under control.

“Do you consider a processing time of over six months for a housing benefit application to be socially acceptable? A recent example: application received by the Housing Benefit Office according to the acknowledgement of receipt from the housing benefit department: 10 December 2015. Status as of today’s date: 25 June 2026. According to information provided by telephone on 0341 115, the application is ‘being processed’,” he phrased his question.

The date of receipt should presumably have been December 2025.

But applicants still face massive problems if, for months on end, they do not even find out whether the housing benefit will be granted at all.

“The purpose of housing benefit, according to Section 1 of the Housing Benefit Act, is to ensure the financial security of adequate and family-friendly housing. But how is that supposed to work if you have to wait more than six months for the decision – and therefore for the money that is meant to ensure you can afford your home?”, asked the resident.

“What do you advise people who rely on housing benefit to do during this long wait? Cut back on basic living expenses such as food and drink, etc., even if they have children? Or reduce their rent payments, risking eviction by the landlord?

Incidentally: the argument that the housing benefit they’re entitled to will be back-paid later is of no use to most housing benefit recipients. They need the money now, not in weeks or even months.”

More applications, more case workers

The problem at the social security office is: “Due to the introduction of the Housing Benefit Plus Act in 2023 and the index-linking of housing benefit in 2025, the number of housing benefit applications to be processed has risen sharply. In 2022, an average of 1,935 applications were received each month; in 2025, the figure was 3,190.”

The number of applications has practically doubled. This forced the social welfare office to double the number of case worker posts as well, the Social Affairs Department has now stated in its response: “To cope with the rise in caseload already anticipated in the legislative proposal, 30 posts were initially allocated to the Housing Benefit Department on 1 December 2022, with a further nine posts added in May 2024. The new staff members first had to be trained and brought up to speed. It was foreseeable at an early stage that, for the most part, it was not – and still is not – possible to process applications within a reasonable timeframe.

Further measures were therefore initiated to make the processing more efficient and thus also to reduce processing times. As part of extensive digitalisation measures, digital e-files were introduced and online applications made possible; the use of ‘artificial intelligence (AI)’ for sorting post was established; and internal procedures and processes were adapted.”

It is fair to doubt whether AI will resolve the problem. After all, ultimately, a case officer must still make a well-founded decision.

The Hare and the Hedgehog

“Nevertheless, we have not yet managed to clear the backlog,” explains the Social Affairs Department. “This is because the measures mentioned only take effect after some time. Initially, the relevant projects involve considerable effort in terms of procurement, programming, testing and staff training. For several months now, the measures have been having an effect and processing times have gradually been reduced slightly.”

The whole process has become significantly more complex as a result of the 2023 regulations. And the introduction phase has, of course, been accompanied by the fact that significantly more people in Leipzig were hoping to receive at least some housing benefit after all.

The result: the number of rejections has risen even more sharply, as a BSW enquiry revealed back in February. Over 6,600 housing benefit applications were rejected in 2025 alone. These, of course, also create work – no less so than the nearly 25,000 approved applications. A figure which, in itself, demonstrates just how great the financial need among Leipzig households is.

“Furthermore, the processing of applications is prioritised wherever possible. Applications which also seek benefits for education and participation for children in the household, or where a high monthly payment is likely to be granted, are processed as a priority. The same applies to applications from households where rent payments are at risk and there is consequently a threat of losing their home. In cases where a financial emergency is credibly demonstrated, the application can be processed at short notice provided all the necessary documents are available,” the Social Affairs Department emphasises.

In February, it had also highlighted the significant increase in the sums that Leipzig had paid out to households receiving housing benefit. By 2019, this sum (since 2010) had effectively halved from 20 to 9 million euros. Then came the coronavirus pandemic and the economic downturn, and the figure rose again to 15 million euros, only to jump immediately to 41 million euros in 2023 following the housing benefit reform, and to 48 million euros by 2025. This trend is currently continuing, as it follows the trend in Leipzig’s rent levels. This, in turn, increases the pressure on households applying for housing benefit to receive a positive response to their application.