APL: eligibility criteria, applicant profiles… who can get this help today?

A major point of tension – the issue of individual housing assistance in the immigration bill – continues to be divided within a joint parliamentary committee. But what exactly does this service include? And who exactly has the right to do this? We will summarize on four issues.

How does this help work?

Personalized Housing Assistance, known as APL, is designed to reduce your rent. It can be allocated to tenants, sub-tenants or house occupants (Ehpad, independent hostel, student hostel, etc.). The assistance is paid for one main residence (i.e. the tenant must live in it for at least 8 months a year) located in France. Today you can use APL if you are French or a foreigner. The main condition is to have a valid residence permit.

This benefit is paid every month by the Family Allowance Funds (CAF, for the general scheme) and Mutual Agricultural Social Assistance Funds (MSA, for the agricultural scheme). According to the Department of Research, Studies, Evaluation and Statistics (Drees), 6.7 million households received housing assistance at the end of 2020, including 44% of APL. The latter have a lower standard of living than the general population: an average of 1,190 euros per month compared to an average of 1,950 euros.

Under what conditions is it awarded?

To qualify for this assistance, two conditions must be met. The first concerns the residence itself. Housing must meet certain “standards of decency and minimum living conditions.” It is clear that the premises must have a minimum area, no risk to the health of the tenant or even certain equipment (plumbing equipment, drinking water supply, etc.). The house must also meet certain environmental standards. If it meets these criteria, the housing is “approved” and eligible for housing assistance.

Another condition: the amount paid under APL depends on the resources of the household. All persons included in its composition (cohabitant, PACS partner) over the past 12 months are taken into account. A simulator is available to future applicants. However, please note that the applicant cannot receive APL if the property is owned by his family. Likewise, people assigned to a taxable household that pays property taxes cannot receive this assistance.

Who gets it?

Households receiving housing assistance (APL or ALF for family housing benefit) are “younger, more female,” and “overrepresented single-parent families,” according to a 2019 Drees study. face poverty levels: according to the same study, 40% of beneficiaries compared to 14% of the total population. Finally, almost 9 out of ten beneficiary households rent their primary residence. This is 2.5 times more than in the general population.

If the question of the share of foreign beneficiaries of APL crystallizes tensions, especially among the right, then this share remains difficult to determine today. Of the 13.5 million social assistance recipients in France, only 10% are families of foreign nationals, both European and non-European, says the National Fund for Family Benefits (Cnaf).

What can change?

The issue of payment of APL to foreigners has become the subject of heated discussions within the joint committee in recent days. The presidential camp and the Republic of Latvia do not hide their differences on this issue. The right wanted to make access to this assistance for foreigners conditional on five years of residence and 30 months for those working. A tightening that LR elected officials believe they received from Elizabeth Bourne. “The majority will not give in” on this issue, Renaissance deputies leader Sylvain Maillard insisted again on Tuesday morning.

However, a few hours later an agreement was reached between the government and the Republicans. This compromise determines the deadline that foreigners must meet to receive this assistance. In detail, foreigners who are in a legal position and not working will have to wait five years before they can receive them. On the other hand, those who are working can get APL after three months of waiting. The article in question is “reserved” and will not be considered immediately, parliamentary sources said.