Personalized housing assistance (APL) is an allowance that you can receive under certain conditions, in particular resources, to help you pay your rent, if you are a tenant, or the cost of your accommodation if you live in an establishment for elderly people such as an nursing home, an independent residence, or even a long-term care unit. The APL is paid by the Family Allowance Fund (Caf) or the Agricultural Social Security (MSA) for those who depend on this scheme.
Personalized housing assistance (APL) is one of the various allowances that can be paid by the Family allowance fund (Caf) or the agricultural social security (MSA) to help you pay the rent for your accommodation in the same way as family housing allowance (ALF) and social housing allowance (ALS).
The APL designates financial assistance granted without age conditions which makes it possible to reduce the amount of one's rent. It is therefore aimed in particular at elderly people who are tenants of accommodation and who meet the specific conditions detailed below.
But the APL also concerns elderly people who live in an establishment such as an accommodation establishment for dependent elderly people (Ehpad), an independent residence, or a long-term care unit (USLD), or who live with a family host, that is to say in the home of a person or family approved for this type of reception by the departmental council.
On the other hand, if you are an owner and you bought your home with a loan signed before February 1, 2018 or if it is an old home located in a city, agglomeration and an urban community whose the number of inhabitants is less than 100,000, you can also apply for PLA.
Whether you rent your home, live in an establishment for the elderly or with a family carer, to qualify for APL, your home must meet certain conditions.
It must first constitute your main residence (which you occupy at least 8 months in the year) and be located in France. If you live in an institution for the elderly and you have still kept your old accommodation, you can receive the APL for your new accommodation, considered your main residence.
The APL can be paid to foreign people provided they are in possession of a valid residence permit, unless they are nationals of a Member State of the European Union, of another country which is party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area or if they are Swiss.
Your accommodation must then comply with what are called "decent criteria and minimum occupancy conditions". In other words, your home must be decent, i.e. have a minimum surface area, without risk to your safety and your health, without the presence of vermin and parasites, have a minimum energy performance, and have a minimum of equipment (heating system, waste water disposal, sanitary installation, drinking water supply, etc.).
On the other hand, your accommodation must be under agreement, i.e. it must be the subject of the signing of an agreement between the State and your landlord or the body managing your accommodation when it this is, for example, a residence in an Ehpad.
You can also claim APL only if your resources do not exceed certain ceilings defined by a decree. These are different depending on the number of people in your household and where your accommodation is geographically located.
The resources taken into account to know your eligibility for the APL are those of the last 12 months. If you are already a recipient of the APL, the Caf (or the MSA if you depend on this social security scheme) updates your income automatically every 3 months thanks to data in particular from the tax services, and without your having to intervene. to find out if you can still touch the APL.
Please note:any changes concerning your situation (moving, family life, bank details, etc.) must be reported by yourself to the Caf or the MSA depending on the organization which pays you the APL, using the documents which justify these modifications.
The amount of APL you can benefit from depends on several criteria:the number of people living with you in your accommodation, all your resources, the amount of your rent or your fee if you live in an establishment for the elderly. In the latter case, the APL is calculated based on the cost of your hosting.
In addition, to define the amount of the APL paid, the real estate and financial assets of your household can also be taken into account if it is greater than 30,000 euros.
The situations of each APL applicant are so diverse that it is not possible to give general information on the amount of APL you can claim. You can, however, get an estimate by going to the Caf or MSA website, depending on your case, which offer a simulator that takes into account your own family characteristics, resources, etc.
The payment of the APL granted occurs every 5th of the month and begins from the 1st day of the month following the month during which your file was processed by the Caf or the MSA according to your social security system.
This assistance intended to help you pay your rent is in principle paid to you directly. But the owner of your accommodation can ask to be the recipient of your APL. In this case, he charges you a reduced rent amount of this assistance.
The manager of your establishment, if you live in a nursing home, in an independent residence, etc., can also ask to receive your APL. He must then make the request directly to the organization which pays you this aid. In this case, your establishment will send you an accommodation invoice minus the amount of the APL it has collected.
Please note:if you live in "National Housing Agency (Anah) approved housing at social or very social rent", that is to say that the rents applied are low, it is the lessor who is in charge. principle receives your APL directly.
If you depend on the general social system, and therefore on the Caf, it is to this organization that you must contact to request the APL. For those who are covered by agricultural social security, the MSA is then the organization to take this step with.
The APL request can be made by post using a dedicated form, but this process is also possible online on the Caf and MSA websites.
In all cases, you must enclose with your request a copy of both sides of your national identity card, your passport or your birth certificate if you are of French nationality, or a copy of your valid stay in other cases, a bank (Rib), postal (Rip) or savings (Rice) identity statement in your name. You must also attach a rental certificate completed, dated and signed by your landlord or a residence certificate signed by the manager of your establishment if you live in an establishment for the elderly.
