APL: France's housing aid, for newcomers

Service-Public, France's official administration site, sets out the main conditions:

• foreigners can benefit provided they have a valid residence permit
• the home must be your main residence — one you live in at least 8 months a year, with some exceptions
• the housing must be covered by an agreement (conventionné) — your landlord must tell you; most social housing is
• it's means-tested, with ceilings depending on your household and location; household income over the last 12 months is counted and updated automatically every 3 months

You can't receive APL if your landlord is your parent, grandparent, child or grandchild (or your partner's).

Sources: Service-Public — Aide personnalisée au logement (APL); Service-Public — APL for non-scholarship students, from 1 July 2026; both read 9 October 2026.

Under a decree of 27 June 2026, since 1 July 2026 a student from outside the EU, EEA or Switzerland holding a residence permit for study can get APL only in one of three cases:

1. you receive a needs-based scholarship — from the Crous, or a regional health and social scholarship based on social criteria
2. you are in paid work
3. you are on an apprenticeship or professionalisation contract

Service-Public notes that refugees, stateless people, and spouses of non-EU students continue to be eligible.

Applications are made online through the CAF. If you're not already a CAF recipient, you first create a CAF account, which is needed for any benefit request. You'll upload documents including a copy of your valid residence permit and your bank details (RIB).

Service-Public gives the average processing time for a complete file as about 36.5 days, and you can follow your file's status in your online account. Keep your residence permit up to date with the CAF — payments can be suspended if it lapses.