Fundamentally new benefit regulations on accommodation costs under the BTHG future distinction between residential groups and apartments

Current remuneration system for inpatient/outpatient integration assistance facilitiesCurrently, the remuneration for inpatient and outpatient integration assistance services is still based on the service and remuneration agreements concluded with the social welfare providers (Sections 75 ff SGB XII). The provision of living space to the client is regularly remunerated via the agreed basic flat rate and the investment amount and the specialist services are remunerated via the flat rate for measures (cf. Section 76 para. 2 sentence 1 SGB XII).

Fundamental reform of the integration assistance benefit system

On January 1, 2020, the final stage of the Federal Participation Act will come into force, with which the integration assistance previously regulated in Chapter 6 SGB XII will then be fully integrated into SGB IX Part 2 and fundamentally reformed. The service and remuneration agreements concluded on the basis of the old legal situation will also expire by 01.01.2020 at the latest. One fundamental change will be the complete legal separation of specialist integration assistance benefits from subsistence benefits. The category of "(partial) inpatient service or facility" under benefit law, which includes comprehensive responsibility for (almost) all areas of the client's life as an essential feature, will thus be definitively abandoned, at least in the area of integration assistance. The service and remuneration agreements concluded with the cost bearers on the basis of the new law will therefore no longer contain basic flat rates and investment amounts for accommodation and meals, but only flat rates for specialist services. These flat rates for specialist services will largely be the equivalent of the current flat rates for measures, even if they will be much more differentiated due to the new regulations. The costs for accommodation, heating and meals, on the other hand, will in future be covered by the social welfare providers for clients entitled to benefits via the general basic social welfare benefits. A significant consequence of this will be that facilities and service providers will no longer be able to enter into contractual agreements with the cost bearers regarding the amount of these costs. The system of basic social welfare benefits simply does not provide for such agreements, but only covers the costs of a client entitled to benefits in individual cases that are appropriate according to the standards of social welfare law.

Special basic income support regulations for accommodation costs for apartments and residential groups in accordance with Section 42a SGB XII new version (from 01.01.2020)

The basic security provisions of SGB XII on accommodation costs will also be amended on January 1, 2020 in view of the reform of integration assistance law. The central provision for the accommodation costs of people who live in apartments or residential groups of service providers will be Section 42a SGB XII as amended. Those entitled to benefits in accordance with Section 42a SGB XII as amended are, on the one hand, older people and, on the other hand, people who are fully disabled and cannot support themselves from their own income or assets. This includes, in particular, people who are employed in workshops for people with disabilities or similar facilities or people who are unable to work at all due to their disability. § Section 42a SGB XII as amended contains basic regulations on the appropriateness of accommodation costs and distinguishes between the following forms of housing: living with the family, in shared accommodation and in residential groups. In shared accommodation, the amount of accommodation costs recognized under social welfare law is based on the following criteria, among others:

Appropriateness standard: Single-person household in the district of origin
Single room or double room
Area of the proportionately used common rooms
Furnished or unfurnished
u. May be exceeded by up to 25 % in the case of certain provisions in the housing transfer agreement
Overruns of more than 25% can be reimbursed in accordance with Section 77 SGB IX in conjunction with Section 42a para. 6 sentence 2 SGB XII if they are due to an increased need for living space as a result of necessary assistance services.

In apartments, the amount of accommodation costs recognized under social welfare law is based on the following criteria, among others:

Appropriateness standard for a rental agreement with a shared flat: multi-person household
Appropriateness standard for an individual tenancy agreement for specific rooms in an apartment: single-person household
If the reasonable costs are exceeded: higher costs are covered for a maximum of 6 months if relocation is unreasonable
Questionable: are higher accommodation costs also reimbursed for apartments in accordance with § 77 SGB IX? § Section 42a para. 6 sentence 2 SGB XII only refers to integration assistance in Part 2 SGB IX in the case of residential groups if the costs are more than 25% higher.

Conclusion

The planning security that service providers still enjoy today due to the contractually stipulated investment amounts and basic flat rates, together with the status of the "(semi-)inpatient facility" under benefit law, will finally cease to apply from 01.01.2020. Service providers will therefore be forced to calculate adequate fees for rent and meals in advance and must hope that these fees will also be appropriate in terms of social welfare law. To prepare for this major change, service providers will have to make fundamental strategic considerations and decisions today, particularly with regard to their future residential services (apartment, residential group or no residential services at all? Contractual arrangements?).

Date: 31. Jan 2017