Jobs in Germany With Accommodation: What Employers Can Actually Charge in 2026

How much housing can legally cost you in 2026

If a German employer provides free accommodation as part of a job offer, Germany sets an official nationwide value for it each year, called the Sachbezugswert. For 2026, the base value for free accommodation for one adult employee is 285 euros a month, or 9.50 euros per calendar day. This is a bundeseinheitlich (nationwide) figure, meaning it is the same whether the job is in a big city or a small town.

That value changes depending on the type of housing. If what you are given is legally a "Wohnung" (a self-contained flat) rather than a shared worker dormitory, the rule is different: the employer is supposed to use the local market rent. Only where that local market rent is difficult to establish do fixed nationwide square-metre prices apply instead: 5.01 euros per square metre a month, or 4.10 euros per square metre a month for simple fittings, meaning no central heating, or no bath or shower.

Sharing a room - and workers under 18

The 285 euro base figure assumes one person in the accommodation. It drops once a room is shared, and again if you are under 18 or classed as an apprentice (Auszubildende). For adults in 2026: with 2 occupants the value is 171 euros a month (5.70 euros a day); with 3 occupants it is 142.50 euros a month (4.75 euros a day); with more than 3 occupants it is 114 euros a month (3.80 euros a day). Being housed in the employer's own household, or in what Germany defines as communal accommodation, cuts the value again on top of any occupancy reduction.

These reductions stack. As a worked example from the German rules: a worker under 18, housed in the employer's household or communal accommodation and sharing with three other employees, can see three reductions added together, cutting the 285 euro base value by 228 euros down to just 57 euros a month. Workers under 18 and apprentices also have their own separate table of values, generally lower across the board than the adult one.

If meals are bundled in too

Some accommodation offers come with meals included. The 2026 nationwide value for free full board (breakfast, lunch and dinner) is 345 euros a month, split as 71 euros for breakfast, 137 euros for lunch and 137 euros for dinner, or a combined 11.50 euros per calendar day. If an employer gives you both free accommodation (for one person, unshared) and free meals, the combined official value for 2026 is 630 euros a month. This is not a discount you are given - it is a value that gets added to both your taxable and your social-security gross pay, so it affects your payslip even though no cash changes hands.

What your contract must include before you travel

Under Polish guidance for people being sent to work abroad, a written agreement with the agency directing you to the job is required, and it must spell out specific points: who the foreign employer is and where it is based, the length of employment, the type of contract and working/pay conditions and any social benefits you are entitled to, your social insurance and accident/illness insurance conditions, the civil liability split between you and the agency if the employer fails to deliver on the contract (including who pays for your travel home), and the fees the agency is actually allowed to charge you. Those allowed fees are limited to real, documented costs: travel there and back, visa, medical exam, and document translation. An agreement missing any of these points does not meet the legal requirement.

Red flags to check before you book the ticket

Before accepting any job with accommodation attached, Polish guidance is explicit on a few points: employment agencies cannot charge you simply for finding you a job, and they cannot collect upfront payments or deposits from you. Never hand over your passport or ID to an employer or agency; keep the originals yourself and only give out copies. Verify the agency is properly registered before signing anything, and be wary of listings that only give a phone number or push you to meet somewhere other than an office. If something goes wrong once you are in Germany, Faire Mobilität, an advisory network run by Germany's trade union federation with 12 regional offices across the country, advises workers from Central and Eastern Europe in their own languages. It is also worth bringing your European Health Insurance Card and your Polish consulate's contact details with you, in case you need help while abroad.