Introduced in February 2026 by the Innenministerium with IB.SH, and the only non-repayable state grant for co-op shares in northern Germany. It removes the share payment as a barrier for low-income households, which is the classic reason a social tenant cannot join a co-op.
- Who: households holding a valid Wohnberechtigungsschein who want to take up membership in a genossenschaftliches Wohnprojekt. The household applies, not the co-op.
- What is funded: purchase of genossenschaftliche Geschäftsanteile at the level of the Pflichtbeteiligung, which must be at least €25,000.
- Amount: 25 % of the Pflichtbeteiligung, plus €5,000 for each child living permanently in the household and the shared flat, capped at €25,000 in total.
- Paid once, in a single instalment, directly to the Genossenschaft after the Zuwendungsbescheid — not to the household.
- Hard timing gate: apply before you buy the shares. No payment may have reached the co-op yet. Retroactive funding is excluded.
- Only for self-occupied, socially funded (sozial geförderte) flats. Usable once per household.
- Combinable with other funding in principle — in particular with kfw-134, which IB.SH also passes through, so a member can pair a grant with a subsidised loan for the same share purchase.
- Applications go directly to IB.SH, Zur Helling 5-6, 24143 Kiel. Contingents apply, so the pot is finite.
Related
- schleswig-holstein-wohnraumfoerderung — the WoFöRL frame and Nr. 15
- schleswig-holstein-ibsh-mietwohnungsbau — the entity-side funding for the same building
- schleswig-holstein-wohnprojekte-gruendungsfonds — the earlier, pre-project stage
- genossenschaft-shares — the instrument being subsidised
- eg-cooperative — the receiving entity
- kfw-134 — the loan half of the same problem, explicitly combinable
- wohn-riester — the third route into co-op shares, via tax
- berlin-ibb-genossenschaftsfoerderung-anteilserwerb — Berlin’s comparable member line
- rheinland-pfalz-isb-genossenschaftsanteile — the western equivalent
- hamburg-wohnraumfoerderung — Hamburg by contrast has no such grant
Detail
- The structure matters for the group’s own financing: because the grant lands as equity in the co-op, it strengthens the entity’s balance sheet at the moment the member joins, rather than sitting as household debt. That is the opposite of the KfW 134 pattern, where the member borrows and the co-op sees only the cash.
- Because the Pflichtbeteiligung must be at least €25,000 to qualify, a co-op with a low share requirement locks its members out of this grant. A new SH co-op designing its Satzung should set the Pflichtbeteiligung with this threshold in mind.
- Open question (not a fact): whether the €25,000 minimum Pflichtbeteiligung is per household or per unit, and whether a co-op may set a higher share for some members and still qualify, was not stated on the IB.SH page on 2026-09-10.