French housing benefit request (APL / ALF / ALS) — CAF

APL (Aide Personnalisée au Logement) applies if your rental is state-approved (conventionné) — social housing (HLM), a social residence, or a private rental where the landlord signed a state convention (CCH art. L821-1 et seq.). ALF (Allocation de Logement Familiale) covers households whose family situation meets the criteria of the Code de la Sécurité Sociale art. L542-1 et seq. in non-approved housing. ALS (Allocation de Logement Sociale) is the residual benefit when you qualify for neither APL nor ALF (CCH art. L831-1 et seq.). The free simulator at caf.fr automatically determines which benefit applies to your situation.

The benefit takes effect from the 1st of the month following your move-in date, provided you apply before the end of that month. Administrative processing by the CAF typically takes one to two months: your first actual payment arrives four to eight weeks after submitting a complete application. If your file is incomplete, processing is delayed until all missing documents are received, potentially pushing your first payment back by several additional weeks.

The monthly amount depends on four parameters: your geographic zone (zone 1 = Paris/Île-de-France, zone 2 = major urban areas, zone 3 = the rest of France), your monthly rent excluding service charges, your rolling 12-month income, and your household composition. As a rough benchmark, a single student in zone 2 with a €600/month rent and €10,000 annual income may receive between €150 and €260 per month. The official caf.fr simulator gives a personalised estimate in under five minutes.

No — housing benefit is never backdated. It starts on the 1st of the month following your move-in date only if you apply within the deadline. If you wait several months to apply, all months elapsed since your move-in are permanently forfeited: the CAF cannot pay arrears under any circumstances. Submit your application on the day you collect your keys, or at the very latest before the end of your move-in month.

In social housing (HLM, résidence sociale), the benefit is paid directly to the landlord by bank transfer via automatic third-party payment (tiers payant), requiring no action on your part. In private conventionné housing, mandatory third-party payment was abolished by the ELAN Act (2018): the allowance is generally paid directly to the tenant, unless the landlord requests otherwise or the CAF imposes direct payment in cases of rent arrears.

Yes. Under the système contemporain (in force since 2021), your income is recalculated every quarter based on the preceding rolling 12 months. A salary increase, exceptional bonus, or change in household composition — marriage, a flatmate leaving, birth of a child — can reduce or cancel the allowance from the following quarter. You must report any change to the CAF without delay (the CAF recommends acting as quickly as possible, ideally within 30 days). An unreported overpayment becomes a recoverable debt, with an additional penalty for fraudulent non-disclosure.