Students can lose their entitlement to housing allowance if they take longer than necessary to complete their studies. This has now been decided by the Administrative Court of Berlin (VG 21 K 144/22). In the case in question, a student who applied for housing allowance was in the 14th semester of her second degree program and in her 20th semester of higher education overall.
However, the housing subsidy authority of the Steglitz-Zehlendorf district office rejected the application for housing subsidy. The reason given was that the claim was abusive. The student took legal action against this. But the Berlin Administrative Court did not uphold her case either. Just like the housing subsidy authority of the district office, the Administrative Court assumes that the student's claim was abusive.
This is the case if the duration of the studies is such that it can be concluded that the studies are not or no longer being pursued seriously. In the present case, the student not only needed more than twice the standard period of study for her studies, but she also passed only slightly more than half of all the required examinations.
Source: berlin.de/VG 21 K 144/22
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