If you would like to help people seeking refuge with private housing, you can either contact the appropriate agency in your city directly or register using one of the links below:
The Quarteera association specifically arranges accommodation for LGBTQIA+. You can register yourself or your apartment for LGBTQIA+ from Ukraine on monday.com. You can also register housing offers specifically for BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ using the form "Ukraine - BIPOC and LGBTQ+ accomodation".
On the following websites, you can offer accommodation for people and their pets:
Please note: It is currently impossible to predict how long people will have to depend on private housing. So it may make sense to only offer accommodation that will be available for more than a few weeks.
You can provide your accommodation free of charge. However, you can also officially sublet your living space. If you would like to be reimbursed for incidental expenses or part of the rent by the authorities, a subletting agreement is advisable. Please note that your landlord usually has to agree to subletting. The Berlin Tenants' Association has put together a video with the most important information on this. You can find a sample letter to ask your landlord for permission to sublet on berliner-mieterverein.de. A sample subletting agreement is available on the website of the Berlin Refugee Council. Sample applications, which you can use to support your guests in dealing with the authorities, can also be found there.
If you are not officially subletting, the following applies: If your guests are only staying for six to eight weeks, you do not need to register this with your landlord. However, to avoid misunderstandings, it may still be advisable to let your landlord know in advance. If guests are staying longer, you must ask your landlord for permission.
Please note: Unaccompanied minor refugees are not allowed to stay with you privately. They will be taken into care by the Youth Welfare Office. The Youth Welfare Office also organizes their accommodation. You can learn more about this in kindergartens in the "Unaccompanied Minor Refugees" chapter.
In general:
- Help your guests arrive in Germany and support them - if desired - in dealing with authorities and coping with everyday life, for example when buying a German SIM card or opening a bank account. You can find information on the "Residence", "Assistance from the State" and "Further Assistance" sections.
- Be sure to give your guests peace and privacy. A private room is ideal. Free access to the bathroom and kitchen should be provided in any case.
- Your guests have just lost everything and are worried about their families in Ukraine. They may not feel like communicating, or communicating a lot. Many are traumatized. Be considerate of their needs. For support options, see our "Counseling & Support" and "Medical Care" sections.
- It is currently not possible to exchange Ukrainian Hryvnia for Euros. So if possible, give your guests some cash at least at the beginning. After registration, needy people will be assisted by the Social Welfare Office. You can read more about this in the "Assistance from the state" section.
- Many Ukrainians are not currently vaccinated against Corona. However, they can get vaccinated free of charge. You can read more about it in the "Medical care" section.
- If the situation is stressful for you, you can call the counseling hotline at 0800 - 111 0111 free of charge and around the clock and talk to the staff there. You can also use the chat at telefonseelsorge.de or krisenchat.de.
You can find more information and tips at proasyl.de, spiegel.de and utopia.de. You will find a guide for private hosts on caritas.de. You can find a FAQ with many answers to all the important questions at unterkunft-ukraine.de.
A Ukrainian language guide can be found at reise-know-how.de, which is currently being made available by the publisher as an e-book for a symbolic amount of 1 cent. A free picture dictionary of Ukrainian can be found at tueftelakademie.de.
Important: There are also many people staying in refugee accommodations who are looking for a room or an apartment. You may of course, offer them living space as well.