Guide: all you need to know about APL!
Personalised housing benefits (APL) are designed to help anyone who applies and meets the required conditions to pay their rent through a monthly grant. However, the eligibility conditions are often poorly understood, and estimating the benefit one can obtain is equally unclear.
Personalised housing benefits (APL) are designed to help anyone who applies and meets the required conditions to pay their rent through a monthly grant. However, the eligibility conditions are often poorly understood, and estimating the benefit one can obtain is equally unclear. We offer here a complete guide to APL, the realities they encompass and everything it is useful to know to benefit from them.
What are APL?
To provide context, personalised housing benefits are governed by the French Construction and Housing Code and were created by the law of 3rd January 1977. They apply to a specific housing stock, regardless of the family characteristics of the occupants, and provide a non-taxable supplementary income for income tax purposes.
When we talk about APL, this generic term generally groups together all available housing benefits. We thus find the Aide Personnalisée au Logement (APL), the Allocation de Logement Social (ALS) and finally the Allocation de Logement Familial (ALF). It should be noted that these last two benefits, now merged into APL, are older and have existed respectively since 1971 and 1948. An applicant does not need to fill in several forms: a single application will enable a claimant to receive all the benefits to which they are entitled.
The National Housing Benefit Fund (FNAL) has been responsible for financing APL since 2016, via intermediate social security administrations (family allowance funds and agricultural social mutual societies). The FNAL itself is funded by an employer contribution, another from family benefit schemes and, to ensure balance, a state grant (representing alone 82% of the total allocation in 2022).
Housing benefit allocation in figures
16.8 billion euros
This is the total amount of housing benefits paid in 2019. It is necessary to distinguish between the types of benefits mentioned:
- 7.5 billion euros was paid in the form of APL;
- 5.3 billion related to ALS;
- 4 billion related to ALF.
6.7 million households
This is the number of households receiving support in 2020, of which 44% received APL, 39% ALS and 17% ALF.
1,190 euros
This corresponds to the average monthly income level of a household receiving housing benefits, compared to €1,950 for the national average. It should be noted that 40% of beneficiaries live below the poverty line, compared to 8% of the total population.
The impact is real: APL covers on average 49% of the main rent excluding charges, and 36% when it comes to ALS or ALF.
Who can claim APL?
Housing concerned
Firstly, it should be noted that not all housing is eligible for APL payments. In property purchase, housing financed with state-aided or state-regulated loans will be concerned. In the rental sector, only conventioned housing will be eligible. Owners who acquired their property through the classic route are therefore excluded, as are non-conventioned landlords.
Conditions relating to the applicant
Strict conditions are set to be able to claim APL. All applicants must:
- Reside legally in France (French nationality or residence permit);
- Live in housing eligible for APL;
- Not be attached to a tax household subject to the Immovable Wealth Tax (IFI);
- Not already be a beneficiary of another state benefit;
- Make the application for their principal residence;
- Have income not exceeding the set limits.
Some clarification on the income calculation used
Obtaining APL is therefore subject to a certain income level. To establish eligibility, the family allowance fund concerned takes into account income received by the household over the last 12 months (and not the income from year N-2 as was the case until the end of 2020).
Specifically:
- For January, February, March 2022, income earned between December 2020 and November 2021 is taken into account;
- For April, May, June 2021, it will be income earned between March 2021 and February 2022;
- And so on.
Please note, any change in household situation such as the arrival of a new child, divorce or job loss must be reported immediately: benefits can be recalculated during the period.
How are APL calculated?
The CAF uses a scale to calculate APL entitlements for eligible households, which takes into account financial resources, household composition and geographical location. The formula will be based on legally set rent ceilings serving as the basis for APL calculations:
| Location | Single person | Couple without children | Single person or couple with one dependent | Per additional dependent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Île-de-France | €298.07 | €359.49 € | €406.30 € | + €58.95 € |
| Cities > 100 000 inhabitants | €259.78 € | €317.97 € | €357.80 € | + €52.08 € |
| Rest of France | €243.48 € | €295.15 € | €330.94 € | + €47.43 € |
The APL actually paid to a household will therefore be calculated by adding the monthly main rent (or L, capped above) and monthly charges (C), then subtracting the personal contribution to housing expenditure (PP). We therefore obtain the formula:
APL = L + C – PP
The personal contribution PP is in turn calculated by adding the tenant’s minimum contribution (PO, set at €34.76 for 2022), the difference between the beneficiary’s income and a flat-rate amount (Rp), multiplied by a personal contribution rate, as a percentage (Tp). This gives us:
PP = PO + Tp x Rp
As you will have understood, the calculation is not simple and fortunately, the CAF offers an online simulator which will save you from a potential waste of time possibly accompanied by a migraine!
Let us nevertheless take a simple example: for a single person living in the Paris region, the rent ceiling is set at €298.07. By subtracting the imposed minimum contribution, the maximum APL amount the applicant can receive is equal to €263.31. If the rent they pay is below the ceiling of €298.07, the tenant will receive APL corresponding to their full rent. If it is higher, the difference will be the tenant’s responsibility.
How to apply for APL?
Today you simply need to go to the CAF website (or the MSA if you are in the agricultural sector), and create your personal space if this has not yet been done, in order to be assigned an allocataire number.
Once connected to this space, you will find a Cerfa form to fill in directly online, to which you must attach a number of documents:
- Your identity document;
- Your health insurance card;
- The lease for the housing concerned;
- Income received over the last 12 months (shown on the 2021 tax notice for an application made in 2022);
- A RIB (bank details);
- Your parents’ file number and their CAF, if they are allocataires;
- The landlord’s details, with their SIRET number in the case of a company;
- Bank statements showing the amount of your assets, as well as those of your spouse.
Also ensure you provide a valid email address, through which all information will be sent to you.
APL directly to the landlord
APL is eligible for the direct payment principle: a landlord, manager or credit institution can request to receive the benefit directly, before deducting it from the rent payable by the tenant.
For APL, direct payment is automatic and the landlord receives the benefit on the 25th of the current month when the housing is conventioned. If this is not the case, the ALS or ALF allowance is paid to the tenant on the 5th of the following month, but the landlord can make a request to receive it directly.
Beware of APL being stopped
Even if you are an allocataire and have been receiving APL for a long time, several situations can suddenly modify the amount or even completely stop the benefit:
- Exceeding the income ceiling, especially since data is now updated every three months and proves penalising in case of income increase but beneficial in case of income decrease.
- A change in situation, such as a divorce, moving house or modification of professional situation. Also note that you must report a change of bank details!
- Unpaid rent, of which the landlord can complain within three months, which will lead to an examination by the Departmental Commission for Public Housing Benefits. If the tenant has a payment delay of 3 months or more (not necessarily consecutive) and if the debt is greater than twice the rent including charges, APL can be suspended.
In case of error or to contest the CAF’s decision, it is possible to file an appeal by means of a registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, addressed to the CAF concerned. If no positive action is taken, you can appeal to the CAF mediator, who will try to find a satisfactory solution for all. Finally, the administrative court can be seized.
You are now aware of the housing assistance possibilities granted by the public sector, from which modest households and students can benefit. Investors, do not hesitate to acquire eligible rental housing, the benefit thereby reducing the risk of non-payment you incur: APL can also prove strategic!
