Housing cost supplement

Are you having trouble paying your rent or mortgage? You may be able to get a temporary housing allowance. Apply for the housing allowance at the municipality.

Arrange online

Download application form (pdf)

Approach

Complete the online application form as:

  • You already receive benefits from the municipality of Heerlen.  

Complete the pdf application form as:

  • if you do not receive benefits from the municipality of Heerlen. We usually do not have enough information about you to be able to assess your application.
    The application form states which supporting documents you must enclose. 

For the application, you will need:

  • A copy of your (and your partner's) identification documents
  • proof of your income, such as a pay stub
  • an overview of your assets
  • an overview of your debts
  • your insurance policies
  • if you are divorced: your divorce information
  • supporting documents on cost items in an owner-occupied home

Description

If your income drops suddenly, you may have trouble paying your rent or mortgage. You may be able to get housing benefit. You will then receive a temporary contribution from the municipality. This makes it easier for you to pay the rent or mortgage.

Do you live in a rental property? Then only the rent counts in the calculation of your housing costs. For a owner-occupied home, the following count:

  • mortgage interest (repayment and consumer loans with the home as collateral do not count)
  • building insurance
  • property tax
  • owner's share of water taxes
  • sewer fee
  • a fixed amount for maintenance costs

Terms

If you have excessive housing costs, you must find cheaper housing within 1 year. We can extend this period by up to 1 year. Whether this applies to you depends on your personal situation and developments on the buying and selling of homes.

To receive housing allowance, the conditions include:

  • You are 18 years of age or older.
  • You are registered in the Basic Registration of Persons (BRP) and live at the address for which you are applying for the housing allowance. 
  • You are a Dutch citizen or equivalent. 
  • You are not excluded from eligibility for assistance and/or special assistance. This is, for example, if you are in prison, a house of detention or TBS clinic during the period of application. 
  • Your income and assets are too low to afford the high cost of living. 

    If your income suddenly drops, you may have trouble paying your rent or mortgage. The housing allowance is there if you suddenly have less income and receive no - or temporarily less - rent allowance.
    The housing allowance is NOT for costs other than the cost of your rent or mortgage. Even if your rent is above the rent allowance limit, you can sometimes get housing allowance. You may not use the allowance for all other general costs such as gas, water and electricity. You must pay these yourself.

Term

The municipality decides within 8 weeks of receiving your application. The municipality may extend this period once.

Objection and appeal

You can object to the decision on your application within 6 weeks. Do you then disagree with the decision on the objection? Then file an appeal with the court.

More information can be found under: Filing an Objection. www.heerlen.nl/bezwaarschrift-indienen

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