Know someone who needs help?
Share this page with people you know who may need help.
Make room for peace
Four walls and safety. It’s easy to take for granted, but means the world to those displaced from their homes. Every space, room, and bed can make a huge difference in someone’s life. List your space to help a refugee find a peaceful place to stay.
Helfende Wände
Helping Refugees Find Homes
Helfende Wände is an initiative of Wunderflats and the non-profit organization ProjectTogether. We connect housing providers with individuals affected by conflict, helping them find suitable accommodation in times of need.
Initially launched as a pilot project in response to the crisis in Ukraine, Helfende Wände has grown to support over 7600 users and offers more than 1100 homes to Ukrainians in need of temporary housing. Our mission is to provide a safe haven for all refugees as they rebuild their lives.
Help refugees in three simple steps
01
Offer your space on the platform
Create an account and offer your space to people in need of housing in 15 minutes, and start receiving requests.
Learn more02
Review and accept
requests
Review, accept or decline requests from your dashboard. You will get a notification of each new request.
Learn more03
Contact the
applicant
Contact the person in need to arrange their move. If you have any questions, we are always happy to help.
Learn moreFAQs
How can I protect my property and belongings during the tenancy period?
We recommend that housing providers take out liability insurance or household insurance to protect themselves against any potential damage.
If you sign a rental agreement with Ukrainian refugees, you can agree that your tenants will give you a security deposit or a rental bond, in line with the provisions set out under Section 551 of the German Civil Code (BGB). However, remember that most refugees do not have the necessary financial resources, nor will the authorities cover it.
If the refugees from Ukraine have friends or family living in Germany, you as the landlord may decide to accept a suretyship, guarantee or collateral promise from the friend or family member. A template guarantee can be found here.
Do I receive any financial support from the government if I let Ukrainian refugees use my property?
Refugees from Ukraine can receive housing support, in certain cases payments are made to the housing providers, depending on local regulations. To find out more, visit the Jobcenter Website.
I’m renting an apartment and would like to take in a refugee from Ukraine. What authorization do I need?
If you let someone use a part of your apartment or one room
If you are a tenant in a rental apartment and would like to take in one or more people for more than 6-8 weeks, you need to obtain permission from your landlord according to Section 540 of the German Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, or BGB for short). This also applies to people who have arrived from Ukraine.
Offering a part of your home for free on a short-term basis is a different case. A stay lasting 6-8 weeks is usually considered as a visit and does not require specific authorization, so you do not need permission from your landlord. The same applies if you have close family members staying with you, such as spouses, children or parents.
Letting someone use your entire apartment
If you want to let a refugee use your entire rental apartment, you will need permission from your landlord.
Is there a minimum rental period?
While there is no minimum rental period, please consider offering your space for at least one month.
Is the platform free to use?
Yes. Wunderflats offers this service on the Helfende Wände platform free of charge.
I would like to host refugees for a longer period of time. Should I sign a contract with them?
If you'd like to host someone for a longer period of time (more than 6 weeks), we recommend that you sign a contract. Wunderflats can provide you and the refugees with rental agreement templates in German/English, Ukrainian and Russian. If you want to take in people without charging them rent, you might consider signing a gratuitous loan agreement with them. We will be happy to provide a template for this as well.
For more information, please contact us at support-ukraine@wunderflats.com.
Do rooms and apartments have to be furnished?
You can offer housing without furniture, but please keep in mind that most refugees arrive in Germany with only the bare essentials. You can support them by providing basic furniture.
Can I offer a spare room?
You can offer an entire apartment or a spare room. Please indicate the housing type when creating a listing on the platform.
Safety
powered by
To keep all users of the platform safe, we ask both those
offering and looking for housing to verify their identity. We offer this service in collaboration with our secure partner Veriff. You will need the following to verify your identity:
A valid government-issued identity document with a photo of you (you will need an original document, scans are not accepted)
A device with a working camera and an internet connection
A minute to take a photo of yourself and your ID
Media contact for
press inquiries
Press Office Wunderflats
PIABO PR
Markgrafenstraße 36
10117 Berlin
In cooperation with:
Data protection:
The purpose of collecting your information is to better understand your housing availability. Your personal information will only be used in connection with our efforts to rent available living space to Ukrainians in need. It will be processed in accordance to all GDPR regulations. It will not be used for commercial purposes. We may, however, pass it on to German government agencies that are involved in facilitating the housing of displaced Ukrainians coming to Germany. You may at any given time request a deletion of your data. Wunderflats will act as Data controller in accordance to the Wunderflats Privacy Policy. By accepting this form you are agreeing for the processing of your Data.
