State assistance

How to get financial aid for your accomodation

You should check as soon as possible whether you are eligible for financial housing aid in France.

For example, if you are a student without significant income and have a valid resident permit, it is likely you can benefit. The amounts can be significant so get informed.

There is a highly developed social housing program in France, but the procedures to obtain such an accomodation can be very long and time-consuming. If you are in real difficulties, you can ask for emergency accommodation.

Housing financial assistance

There are a few types of financial assistance, available usually through CAF (Caisses d'Allocations Familiales), which is the French state assistance fund for families. The most common are APS (Allocation de Logement Sociale) and APL (Aide Personnalisée au Logement). The level of help depends on your income, type of housing and rent paid. In case of shared property, every tenant can benefit, but only his proportion of the rent. Each individual must apply separately.

For more information, refer to the CAF website: www.caf.fr (in French only) where you can find information, application forms and a listing of documents to submit with your application. You can also visit the nearest CAF office, but be aware that you may spend a few hours waiting.

Important points:

To be eligible, you need a rent contract with your name on it. If you share a flat, make sure your name is on the contract and the rent paid by you is clearly detailed.
You will need an original of your Birth Certificate (Acte de naissance). In addition you will need a certified translation (which details the names and surnames of your parents). This document, when delivered in France for French citizens, cannot be older then three months. In most other countries it is however issued only once - when you are born - and has unlimited validity. French authorities sometimes do not accept this, in this case, get your Embassy to certify your document as having unlimited validity or ask for their help.
Try to make sure you follow all instructions on the application. Fill in all forms completely and include all necessary supporting documents. It is very common to miss something from the long list of required documentation the first time (or more), so check carefully. It is also probable that you will find the CAF staff very inflexible, asking you to fully comply with even the smallest details. Be patient and don't try to get sympathy from French friends as they will point out this is to protect the generous French social system from abuse.

Social housing (HLM)

The French state has a well developed program of social accommodation (HLM, Hébergement à loyer modéré), which is attributed to families with low income. To be eligible, you must be legally resident in France and your annual post-tax household income for the previous 2 years must be below a certain level. This depends on the number of people in the household and the region and the levels change each year. For information, these are a few examples (2003):

4-member family:
€37.546 for Paris region and bordering communities
€34.542 for l'Ile de France region (without Paris) bordering communities
€27.055 for other regions
3-member family or one person with another person on charge:
€31.448 for Paris region and bordering communities
€28.837 for l'Ile de France region (without Paris) bordering communities
€22.412 for other regions

This accommodation is very cheap, but supply is limited. Being eligible does not guarantee getting it and availability of HLM depends on the region. There are groups who have priority (these differ depending on the département), who usually include people:

evicted from their home who are without a place to live
handicapped people, large families, pregnant women, young people looking for the first accommodation
obliged to moved due to their employment
in sudden financial difficulties

The procedure to get HLM accommodation can be very long, especially if you are not in the priority group. For example, in Paris, it can take years. Applications should be made simultaneously to your local Prefecture de Police, local HLM office or local town hall ( Mairie) and that local town hall to where you wish to move

Emergency accommodation

Social Readjustment Centres (CHRS) exists in larger cites to provide emergency accommodation to people without a place to stay. However, we recommend you only consider this if you are desperate and in severe difficulties.