Aide personnalisée au logement (APL)

The personalised housing allowance (Aide personnalisée au logement, APL) is established by articles L. 821-1 and following of the French Code de la construction et de l'habitation (CCH). It was created by Law 77-1 of 3 January 1977 and most recently reformed on 1 January 2021 (real-time calculation based on the last twelve months of income).

APL is administered by the CAF (family-allowance funds) and by the MSA for those covered by the agricultural social-security regime. It coexists with two other personal housing allowances — ALF (family) and ALS (social) — and the rule of non-cumul applies strictly: a household receives only one of the three.

APL covers conventioned housing (housing for which the owner has signed an APL convention with the state). This includes the great majority of HLM (social) housing and many private-sector rentals under the Borloo or Anah conventions.

You can claim APL if:

• you occupy the housing as your main residence (at least eight months per year);
• you pay rent or repay a loan for that housing;
• your household resources are below the CAF ceiling;
• the dwelling is conventioned (for APL specifically) or meets the decency criteria;
• you are a French national, an EEA / Swiss national, or a foreign national in regular residence in France with a valid residence permit.

The four-month residence test is interpreted strictly: the housing must be your principal residence, not a secondary or holiday home. APL recipients can be tenants, sub-tenants in a regularly registered sub-let, or homeowners with a conventioned PAS loan (closed to new applicants since 1 January 2018).

Since the 1 January 2021 reform, APL is calculated in 'real time' — that is, on the basis of the twelve most recent months' rolling income, instead of the prior fiscal year (N-2). The calculation is updated automatically every quarter (article R. 822-1-1 CCH).

The formula in article R. 822-25 CCH integrates:

• household composition (number of persons in the unit);
• resources of the household (salaries, allowances, pensions, capital income, rental income);
• the rent or loan repayment, capped per a geographic grid (zones I, II, III) — Paris and inner suburbs in zone I, large agglomerations in zone II, the rest in zone III;
• a flat charges allowance (€54.76 for a single person in 2024, increased per additional household member);
• the type of dwelling (rental, foyer, university residence).

The average APL across all types is around €230 / month, per CAF 2024 statistics. A student in a university residence in zone II can receive €200–250 / month depending on personal resources; a low-income family of four in zone I often exceeds €400 / month.

Applications are made to the CAF of the département of residence, through the online portal at caf.fr, with FranceConnect or CAF account login. The procedure typically takes 15–20 minutes; the legal response time is 30 days (article L. 821-7 CCH).

Required documents:

• identity document (national ID, passport, or residence permit);
• French social-security number (NIR), found on the Carte Vitale;
• housing proof — signed lease (tenants), conventioned loan contract (homeowners), or attestation from the residence manager (university accommodation, foyer);
• recent rent receipt or landlord's certificate stating the monthly rent and charges;
• bank account details (RIB) for direct deposit;
• proof of resources — last three months of pay slips, France Travail (former Pôle Emploi) attestation for unemployed claimants, tax notice for self-employed, CROUS certificate for grant recipients;
• for students: school or university enrolment certificate.

The right to APL begins on the first day of the month following the date all conditions are met (article R. 823-7 CCH). No retroactive payments, except for students in CROUS housing who get a one-month retroactive grant.

Several frequent errors delay or block APL applications:

• Late notification of changes — moves, marriages, separations, income changes — must be reported within one month (article R. 823-9 CCH). Late notifications generate indus that the CAF recovers from future payments.
• Missing the conventioned-housing requirement — claiming APL on a non-conventioned rental. The right benefit in that case is ALS or ALF, with similar amounts but different processing.
• Family-relationship lease — leases between relatives in direct line (parents, children, grandparents) are excluded under article L. 821-3 CCH.
• Dwelling-decency failures — minimum 9 m² for one person, 16 m² for a couple, with sanitary equipment, heating, electrical safety. Non-decent housing means no APL until repair.
• Annual recertification — the CAF asks every year for an updated declaration of housing situation. Missing this triggers automatic suspension after two months.