This guide is for internationals who have just moved to France and rent a home or live in a residence, and who want to understand the aide personnalisée au logement (APL, personalised housing aid). After reading it, you will know who can receive the APL, which conditions apply to foreign nationals, how the amount is calculated and paid, and how a claim is made through the Caf.
- What the APL is and who pays it
- Conditions for foreign nationals and international students
- Conditions on the person, the home and income
- How to apply through the Caf
- How the APL is calculated, paid and recalculated
- FAQ
What the APL is and who pays it
The APL is financial help that reduces your rent. If you live in an establishment such as a student residence or a care home, it reduces your redevance (the monthly charge paid by residents) instead. According to the official Service Public page on the APL, it is paid either by the caisse d’allocations familiales (Caf, the family allowance fund) or by the mutualité sociale agricole (MSA, the agricultural social security fund). Which one pays depends on your social security scheme. Most newcomers deal with the Caf, so this guide follows the Caf procedure.
The APL also applies in the overseas departments and regions, under particular conditions that the page does not detail. The Caf has an online simulator that shows whether you may be entitled to the APL and roughly how much you could receive. A simulation is only an estimate. The Caf makes the decision on the actual claim.
Conditions for foreign nationals and international students
Being a foreign national does not exclude you from the APL. The condition is that you hold a valid titre de séjour (residence permit). This applies both to tenants and to residents of an establishment.
Since 1 July 2026, a stricter rule has applied to some students. If you are a national of a country outside the European Union, the European Economic Area or Switzerland and you hold a residence permit issued for studies, you can receive the APL in only 3 cases:
- you receive a bourse sur critères sociaux (means-tested grant) from the Crous (the regional student services body), or a regional health and social care grant based on the same social criteria;
- you have a professional activity;
- you are on a contrat d’apprentissage (apprenticeship contract) or a contrat de professionnalisation (work-study contract).
The page does not go into detail on residence permit categories. If you have a question about your own permit, its category or its renewal, ask the prefecture or a migration advice service, not the Caf.
Conditions on the person, the home and income
Who can claim
The APL is open to tenants and to flatmates (the calculation takes account of the share of the rent each person pays). Subtenants can also claim if they have been declared to the landlord of a home let in full or in part, but only if they are under 30 years old or are housed by an accueillant familial (an approved host family). Residents of establishments can also apply. These include care homes, résidences autonomie (independent living residences for older people), student residences and logements-foyers (hostel-type housing).
There is no minimum age. A minor can receive the APL. In that case the parents must sign the lease, but the rent receipt can be in the minor’s name. An emancipated minor must have the lease in their own name. When parents share custody of a child, both can receive the APL, but only for the days in the year when each one has the child at home.
Some situations rule the APL out, such as being related to the landlord, owning a share of the home or holding its usufruit (right of use). You also cannot receive it if you are attached to your parents’ foyer fiscal (tax household) and they pay the impôt sur la fortune immobilière (IFI, the property wealth tax).
The home
The home must be your résidence principale (main residence) and must be in France. It must meet standards of decency and occupancy. It must also be conventionné, which means it is covered by an agreement with the State. Your landlord, or the manager of the establishment, must tell you whether it is. Most HLM (social housing) homes are conventionnés.
Income
The APL is means-tested. It depends on income ceilings that vary with the make-up of your household and where the home is located. The page does not publish these ceilings. The simulator and the Caf apply them. The Caf counts the income of everyone in the household over the last 12 months and updates it automatically every 3 months, so you do not need to do anything.
How to apply through the Caf
You apply online through the Caf’s téléservice (online service) for housing aid, which covers the APL and the other personal housing allowances. If you are not yet an allocataire (benefit recipient) of the Caf, you must first create a Caf account. The account is compulsory for any benefit claim and is used for all future exchanges with the Caf.
The page gives an average processing time only for complete files. How long a particular claim takes is up to the Caf. You can follow progress in your online account, which shows the file as pending, in progress or processed. The page does not list the documents you need to supply. The online service tells you what the Caf requires.
How the APL is calculated, paid and recalculated
The amount is worked out from several official scales that take into account:
- the number of dependants who usually live with you;
- your income, the income of your partner (spouse, Pacs partner or cohabiting partner) and the income of the people who usually live with you;
- the value of the property and financial assets held by those same people, when it is above 30 000 €;
- your rent, or your redevance if you live in an establishment.
A rent increase is not taken into account straight away. From 1 January of the following year, the APL is reassessed automatically using the rent you paid the previous July.
As a rule, the APL is not paid to you. For tenants, it goes directly to the bailleur (landlord), who deducts it from the rent. For residents of an establishment, it goes to the manager, who deducts it from the redevance.
FAQ
Can I get the APL if I am not a French or EU citizen?
Yes. Foreign nationals can receive the APL if they hold a valid residence permit and meet the other conditions. Since 1 July 2026, students from outside the EU, the EEA and Switzerland who hold a residence permit issued for studies qualify only if they receive a means-tested grant, have a professional activity, or are on an apprenticeship or work-study contract.
How do I know if my flat qualifies?
The home must be your main residence, located in France, meet decency and occupancy standards, and be conventionné. Your landlord or the establishment manager must tell you whether it is. Most HLM homes are.
Will I receive the money in my bank account?
As a rule, no. The APL is paid directly to the landlord or the establishment manager, who deducts it from the rent or the redevance.
How long does the Caf take to process a claim?
The Caf decides how long each claim takes. The official page gives an average only for complete files. Your online Caf account shows whether the file is pending, in progress or processed.
Sources: service-public.fr
Last verified: 20 October 2026 against the pages linked above. Rules and fees change; the responsible authority always has the final word.
This is general information, not legal or immigration advice. For your own situation, ask the prefecture of your département, a recognised migration advice service or a lawyer (avocat).
Sources
- service-public.fr: Aide personnalisée au logement (APL), accessed 20 October 2026
France, for internationals
One email a week: the week's news for internationals in France, new practical guides and what changed in the cities. No spam, unsubscribe any time.
