Deducting accommodation rent from wages: the three limits employers must keep

Can you deduct rent for company accommodation from an employee's wage in Germany?

A deduction is possible, but it needs a basis in the agreement with the employee. German trade law treats accommodation as a benefit in kind. Benefits in kind are part of the wage only where this corresponds to the interest of the employee or to the nature of the employment relationship (§ 107 (2) GewO). A deduction you decide on alone after the contract was signed does not meet that test.

Two further rules sit in the same provision. Goods handed over to the employee may only be credited at the average cost price. They must be of average kind and quality, unless something else was expressly agreed. The customs administration applies the same quality standard of average kind and quality to accommodation provided to seasonal workers.

Whether you must provide housing at all is a different question from whether you may charge for it. We cover the first question in does the employer have to provide accommodation for foreign workers.

Offsetting rent against the wage or a separate accommodation contract: what changes for you

Both routes need clear figures before the first payday. Decide early which one you use, because the wording in the employment contract follows from it. Mixing the two, for example a rent clause in the employment contract plus an informal cash payment, makes the payroll statement hard to defend in a check.

How high may the deduction for company accommodation be? The attachable part of the wage is the ceiling

The value of agreed benefits in kind may not exceed the attachable part of the employee's wage (§ 107 (2) GewO). The attachable part is the share of pay that could be seized by a creditor. What stays out of reach follows § 850c ZPO, and the current figures are published in the Pfändungsfreigrenzenbekanntmachung 2026.

There is no flat amount you can copy into every contract. The unattachable share depends on net pay and on maintenance obligations, so it differs from employee to employee. Your payroll office has to work it out per person and per month. If the agreed accommodation value is higher than the attachable part, the excess cannot be set off against the wage.

Keep the calculation documented. In a check by the Financial Control of Undeclared Work, the unit of the customs administration that audits minimum working conditions, you need to show what the accommodation was valued at and why. Legal position: 1 September 2026.

Does company accommodation count towards the 13.90 euro minimum wage?

The statutory minimum wage is 13.90 euros gross per hour since 1 January 2026 and rises to 14.60 euros on 1 January 2027 (§ 1 MiLoV5). Agreements that fall short of the minimum wage claim are void to that extent (§ 3 MiLoG). A waiver is only possible through a court settlement.

For seasonal workers, the customs administration describes how accommodation and catering can be credited towards the minimum wage. The offset applies § 107 (2) GewO accordingly. It requires an agreement and cannot be imposed by the employer alone. It may not exceed the attachable part of the wage, and it is additionally limited by the values of § 2 SvEV.

§ 2 SvEV sets the benefit-in-kind values for board, accommodation and housing. In the current version, accommodation is valued at 285 euros per month, with reductions for shared occupancy and for other cases listed in the provision. The values are adjusted every year, so check the wording in force for the payroll month. Where a flat is provided instead of a room, the local market rent is the benchmark.

One exception matters before you plan any offset: according to the customs administration, crediting benefits in kind is not permitted where you owe a minimum wage on the basis of the Posted Workers Act (AEntG) or the Temporary Employment Act (AÜG).

What the contract and the payslip must show when you charge for accommodation

The composition and amount of the pay must be recorded separately, including allowances, bonuses and other components, together with the due date and the manner of payment (§ 2 NachwG). The payroll statement must be issued in text form and state type and amount of all deductions (§ 108 GewO). A rent deduction that appears nowhere in writing is a finding waiting to happen in a wage check.

• Written agreement on the accommodation, its price and how it is paid
• A separate accommodation contract where the employee rents the room; the Federal Employment Agency publishes a bilingual model contract
• A payroll line that names the deduction and its amount
• A record of the value used and of the attachable part for that employee
• Proof that enough is left over to live on, which the Federal Employment Agency stresses in its material on seasonal work

A second duty applies when you recruit from abroad: the new employee has to be informed about the key working conditions. We cover it in the employer information duty for new hires from abroad.

Which standards must the company accommodation meet before you charge rent for it?

Where accommodation is required for reasons of safety, health protection or humane work design, the employer has to provide appropriate accommodation (Annex to the ArbStättV, point 4.4). The fit-out depends on how many people live there and how long they stay. The Annex names a living and sleeping area with beds, cupboards, tables and chairs, an eating area and sanitary facilities.

The same Annex sets requirements for the building itself. It calls for insulation against heat, cold and damp, a room temperature that is not harmful to health, and daylight plus a view to the outside where possible. For shared accommodation there is a documentation duty: addresses, capacity, which employees are housed there and for which period.

Quality and price are linked. A room that is clearly below average standard is hard to square with the rule that benefits in kind must be of average kind and quality. Whether a specific room meets the requirements is assessed by the competent occupational safety authority, not by the employer alone.

Hiring from abroad with company accommodation: what to settle before the contract is signed

Settle four points in writing before anyone signs: who provides the room, what it costs, how the cost is paid, and what standard it meets. For candidates who are still abroad, this is also the information they need to judge the offer. A vague sentence such as accommodation can be arranged leads to disputes on arrival.

Two special situations change the picture. For workers posted across borders, the mandatory working conditions include requirements for accommodation that the employer provides directly or indirectly, as well as allowances or reimbursement for travel, board and lodging (§ 2 AEntG). For third-country nationals admitted as seasonal workers, EU Directive 2014/36 states that rent must not be excessive in relation to net pay and the quality of the accommodation, must not be deducted automatically from the wage, and must be set out in a rental contract or equivalent document.

Be careful with any offer that asks a worker for money upfront for a job or for a room. Hirenord never asks candidates for an advance payment, and who pays for the placement is agreed in writing beforehand. If you want to fill a vacancy with a worker from Albania or Kosovo and housing is part of the package, you can register as an employer and tell us what the role needs.