2. Housing
  3. Homesharing

Homesharing ("Wohnen für Hilfe")

With Homesharing ("Wohnen für Hilfe"), we want to bring students and people with free housing together in living partnerships.

This is how it works: Whether it's mowing the lawn, doing the weekly grocery shopping, or going for walks together - in a living partnership, the living partners jointly determine the living conditions and the rules of living together. The Studentenwerk Potsdam advises interested parties and arranges the living partnerships. The offer is free of charge. Download our information flyer.

The project has aroused your interest and you have a room or an apartment available? Then apply to us. We will also be happy to advise you by telephone or e-mail on any further questions you may have.

Note: Students who apply for a housing partnership through "Wohnen für Hilfe" please note that only applications via the application form can be considered.

Furthermore, experience shows that a short introduction video (name, interest, possible assistance, etc.) facilitates the placement enormously. However, submitting such a video is optional. If you decide to do so, please note that you may have to provide the video via a cloud service if it exceeds a size of 10 MB. Furthermore, we require a completed declaration of consent for the use of photo and film (see attachment to the application form).

You can submit your application via e-mail to wohnen-fuer-hilfe[at]studentenwerk-potsdam.de or by mail to the address of the Studentenwerk Potsdam.

Questionnaire for students

* Please note that your application is only valid for 1 semester. If you are still interested in being listed in the applicant file, please send us a short e-mail with your current certificate of study. The questionnaire is not an application for a place in one of our student residences in Potsdam, Wildau, and Brandenburg. The application portal for dormitory places can be found here.

Current offers

Room in Zeuthen for help in the garden: 20m2 room. Shared kitchen and bathroom. 250 EUR cost sharing. More info here.

Partly furnished room in Stahnsdorf for help with technology and in the garden: 16m2-room with bathroom. Shared use of kitchen. Partly furnished. 300 EUR cost sharing. More info here.

FAQ

Housing providers

Do you have a spare room and would like to make it available to someone else in exchange for help with household chores?

  • Housing providers can be: all people who have free living space (e.g. a room) and can imagine a living partnership
  • You are open for living together with young people coming from Germany and other countries
  • You can imagine to reduce or waive accruing rent costs by providing assistance
  • You would like help, e.g. with grocery shopping, child and homework care, gardening, taking care of pets, need accompaniment at doctor's appointments, want to learn a new language or are looking forward to a new community.
  • Note: The assistance excludes all nursing and medical activities
     

Students

You study at a university in Brandenburg, Wildau or Potsdam, are helpful and socially committed & looking for affordable housing?

  • You are open to living together with different generations
  • You are reliable and willing to help
  • You can imagine offering help, e.g. grocery shopping, child and homework care, gardening, caring for pets, small repairs
  • Note: The assistance excludes all nursing and medical activities
  1. You can come to our Student Services office and we will help you fill out the application form, or you can email us the completed form in advance. Do you have any questions about the procedure? Then our project staff member Christian Schwinge will be happy to advise you in person or by telephone.
  2. We will arrange an appointment with you for a home visit.
  3. We record your application form and post your offer anonymously on our website - we do not pass on your personal data (name, address, contact details)!
  4. As soon as someone is interested in your offer, we will forward you information about the interested person. You can decide whether the person is eligible for a housing partnership with you.
  5.  If you would like to meet the interested party, we will forward contact information on both sides. You can then get to know each other personally. If you wish, the Student Services project worker may also be present at this meeting. This offer is voluntary.
  6. Note: Here we have put together a few tips for getting to know each other.
  7. Bull's eye - It was a good fit! If we receive positive feedback from both you and the interested party after the meeting, it's almost done. Then you can come to us at the Studentenwerk and we will advise you on the housing partnership agreement. The role of the Studentenwerk is limited to that of advising and mediating - however, we are not a contractual partner! Please note: For assistance in the household, accident insurance must be taken out for the person taking up residence. We will be happy to advise you on this!

The offered living space can be a room in the apartment, but also a small attic or granny apartment in the house. Whether the living space is furnished or you bring your own furniture, can be seen from the room offers and can sometimes be arranged individually.

"Do I have to work during the semester break, too?"
"Can I ban loud music and parties?"

We want you to live well together and learn and gain from each other! That's why we advise you before you sign a housing partnership and throughout the duration of your living together. Important questions are already clarified in the application form. In addition, we will give you advice in the form of a checklist before your first meeting together and advise you on the conclusion of a contract.


There are no fees for the placement service provided by the Studentenwerk. The application and participation in Wohnen für Hilfe is free of charge for those providing and those receiving housing.

With regard to the evaluation of a housing partnership in terms of tax and employment law, it is important to note that in practice "Wohnen für Hilfe" has a large number of very individual cases, each of which raises specific legal questions. For the correct handling of the individual case, we therefore recommend seeking expert advice in case of doubt.

Important: The following information is intended only as an explanation or recommendation and cannot replace a legal examination in individual cases!

 


In the question of the existence of an employment relationship between the person providing the accommodation and the person receiving it, a distinction must be made between two scenarios:

  1.  Any assistance to be provided on the part of the student tenant is voluntary. They can be outlined in a written supplementary agreement. There is no legal claim to their execution.
  2.  If the parties agree beyond 1.) that the student has to provide bindingly agreed services to the housing provider to a specified extent, an employment relationship is regularly established between the parties. This may have consequences under employment, wage tax and social security law.

If 2.) applies and a regular employment relationship is established, the students in the context of "Wohnen für Hilfe", like all employees who help in the household, must generally be insured against accidents.

Application: On the website (https://www.ukbb.de/versicherte/haushaltshilfen/) there is a registration form that must be filled out and sent by mail to the Unfallkasse Brandenburg. Alternatively, you can request the information sheet and registration form from the Unfallkasse by calling 0335/5216-0.

Costs incurred: If assistance is provided for less than 6 hours a week, an annual fee of 20€ must be paid to the Unfallkasse. If assistance is provided for more than 6 hours a week, an annual fee of 40€ must be paid.

If you have free living space, you can participate in "Wohnen für Hilfe" - even if you live in a rented apartment.

Important: The subletting of living space is subject to approval. Landlords cannot refuse to allow another person to move in if you have a legitimate interest. Therefore, clarify in advance with your landlord/landlady whether a housing partnership is possible.

You are volunteering or working in the social sector & would like to support our work by spreading the word about "Wohnen für Hilfe"? We look forward to your commitment! Here you will find an overview of our publications (information flyers, postcards, posters). You can request these from us free of charge and then distribute them through your institution.

"Wohnen für Hilfe" - Publications

 

You are interested in the project "Wohnen für Hilfe" and would like to report about it? Write us an e-mail!

Privacy policy for the questionnaire "Wohnen für Hilfe" due to the European Data Protection Regulation (DSGVO)

Thank you for your interest in our project "Wohnen für Hilfe" (Homesharing), which has the intention to bring together housing-seeking students and housing-providing persons who are looking for support in the household in housing partnerships.
We take the protection of your private data very seriously and treat the data entrusted to us in strict confidence in accordance with the applicable data protection regulations and handle it responsibly. Therefore, we would like to inform you here how we implement the provisions of data protection and which personal data we process in the context of the homesharing program.

 1. Name and contact details of the data controller and the company data protection officer

The Studentenwerk Potsdam, Babelsberger Straße 2, 14473 Potsdam (referred to as "we" in the text), is the data controller within the meaning of the EU General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR"). Our data protection officer can be contacted at the above address, in the name of Mr. Duckerschein, or at datenschutzbeauftragter[at]studentenwerk-potsdam.de.

2. Collection and storage of personal data as well as type and purpose and their use

We process your data insofar as it is necessary for the placement of housing within the framework of the "Wohnen für Hilfe" project. Placement-relevant data are, in particular, name, contact details, address, and possibly also citizenship, ethnic origin, religious or ideological beliefs or health restrictions. Furthermore, we may also process other information that you provide to us in any other way in connection with your application. The same applies to information made publicly available. Your personal data will only be processed in order to bring together suitable housing providers and recipients in accordance with the basic intention of the "Wohnen für Hilfe" project. The legal basis for this is Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. a), c) and e) in conjunction with. Art. 4 No. 2 DSGVO and Art. 7 DSGVO. Furthermore, we may process personal data about you insofar as this is necessary for the defense of asserted legal claims. The legal basis for this is Art. 6 para. 1, lit. f) DSGVO.
If a housing placement does not come about, your personal data will be destroyed after 6 months. You will not be notified of this.

3. Transfer of data to third parties

Your personal data will not be passed on to third parties for purposes other than those relevant to the placement. Incidentally, personal data is processed on our behalf on the basis of contracts in accordance with Art. 28 DSGVO, this in particular by providers of software services. A transfer to a third country is not intended by us.

4. Your rights

You have the right

  • Pursuant to Art. 7 (3) DSGVO, to revoke your consent once given to us at any time. This has the consequence that we may no longer continue the data processing, which was based on this consent, for the future;
     
  • in accordance with Art. 15 DSGVO, to request information about your personal data processed by us;
     
  •  pursuant to Art. 16 DSGVO, to request without undue delay the rectification of inaccurate or incomplete personal data held by us;
     
  • pursuant to Art. 17 DSGVO, to request the erasure of your personal data stored by us, unless the processing is necessary for the exercise of the right to freedom of expression and information, for compliance with a legal obligation, for reasons of public interest, or for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims;
     
  • pursuant to Art. 18 DSGVO, to request the restriction of the processing of your personal data, insofar as the accuracy of the data is disputed by you, the processing is unlawful, but you object to its erasure and we no longer require the data, but you need it for the assertion, exercise or defense of legal claims or you have objected to the processing pursuant to Art. 21 DSGVO;
     
  • pursuant to Art. 20 DSGVO, to receive your personal data that you have provided to us in a structured, common and machine-readable format or to request the transfer to another controller; and
     
  • complain to a supervisory authority in accordance with Art. 77 DSGVO. As a rule, you can contact the supervisory authority of your usual place of residence or workplace or our company headquarters for this purpose
     
  • object to the processing of your personal data in accordance with 21 DSGVO, provided that your personal data is processed on the basis of legitimate interests in accordance with Art. 6 (1) p. 1 lit. f DSGVO and there are grounds for your objection that arise from your particular situation.

5. Necessity of providing personal data.

The provision of personal data is neither legally nor contractually required, nor are you obliged to provide the personal data. Your information, especially about citizenship, ethnic origin, religious or ideological beliefs or health restrictions, is provided voluntarily. However, the provision of your personal data is necessary for the placement within the "Wohnen für Hilfe" program. This means that if you do not provide us with personal data when applying, we will not be able to provide placement services..

6. No automated decision making

There is no automated decision-making in individual cases within the meaning of Art. 22 DSGVO.

Contact

Christian Schwinge
Clerk "Wohnen für Hilfe"
room: 4.21
+49 331 3706-506
+49 174 3220699