At Colivys, we offer to each of our tenants an individual sublease contract. But did you know that aid such as the APL (Personalized Housing Assistance) can be granted to you in order to finance part of your rent, under certain conditions?
The APL (Personalized Housing Assistance) is a financial aid distributed by the French State which tends to reduce the price of your rent. The amount you can be granted depends on many criteria, such as the type of housing you are renting, the amount of your rent, but also your family situation and your incomes. As a tenant, roommate or sub-tenant, you can also benefit from this aid under certain conditions. APL and flat-sharing, how does it work ? Discover all the answers to your questions in our article.
What are the aids of the CAF (Family Allowance Fund) for flat-sharing ?
Whether you are a tenant, a roommate or a sub-tenant, you are entitled to receive various housing benefits from the CAF – Caisse d’Allocations Familiales (Family Allowance Fund). Depending on your situation, you may be eligible for Personalized Housing Assistance (APL), Social Housing Allowance (ALS) or Family Housing Allowance (ALF). Let’s discover their differences below :
APL is a personalized aid. In other words, the amount allocated may differ according to the personal situation of applicants. It depends on the rent paid, the incomes and the composition of the household.
ALS is an housing allowance of social nature that concerns all types of non-conventional housing. This assistance is mostly intended for students, households without children or elders in charge.
Finally, ALF is an aid reserved for families who cannot benefit from the APL or the ALS. Its amount takes into account the number of children, the amount of rent, the place of residence and the resources of the household.
If you are interested in one of our rooms, you can now go to the CAF website and make a simulation of the aid you could receive and the amount that could be allocated to you.
How can I get help from the CAF if I share a flat ?
It’s possible to receive housing aid (APL, ALS, ALF) when you live in a shared apartment. However, to qualify, you must meet certain criteria:
The accommodation must be your primary residence:
- You must be the holder of a lease or a shared housing agreement, and your name must appear on the lease.
- There should be no conjugal, ascending or descending relationship between you and the property owner or landlord.
- Your income must be below the limit set annually by the CAF.
When it comes to financial aid (APL, ALS, ALF) and shared accommodation, the amount of aid granted by the CAF can vary depending on the type of lease signed. Indeed, the CAF may have to use two different calculations depending on the lease:
If you’re a roommate/tenant/sub-tenant in co-living, the landlord may make you subscribe to a single lease agreement signed by all roommates. In this case, the CAF bases its calculations on the single receipt to determine the amount of the APL. Depending on the resources of the roommates, it divides the total rent by the number of occupants. The landlord may also have you sign a solidarity lease. This contract stipulates that when one of the roommates leaves, the total rent is divided among the remaining roommates.
If you’re a roommate/tenant/sub-tenant in co-living, the landlord may also make you subscribe to your own individual lease agreement. This is the choice we’ve made at Colivys. In this case, the calculation of the CAF is the same as for a traditional rental. The CAF then takes into account the situation and resources of the tenant/roommate/sub-tenant.
We invite you now to simulate the type of aid and the amount you could potentially receive on the CAF website. Please note that this is an estimate and therefore can change.
Why do we get less in a shared apartment?
People who live in a shared apartment may receive a smaller amount of APL than people who live alone. This difference can be explained by the difference in the calculation method.
The calculation of the APL is based on :
- The amount of the capped rent
- A fixed amount of charges
- The resources and the composition of the household
However, sharing a flat allows you to share some of the costs, thus reducing your expenses. The housing assistance is then lower for the roommates, since the amount taken into account to calculate the assistance attributed to each inhabitant, is equivalent to 75% of the ceiling of a single tenant.
How do I know what kind of aid I can get for a room at Colivys?
Are you considering renting a room in a shared flat through Colivys and wondering what CAF benefits you might be eligible for? To find out, head straight to the Caisse des Allocations Familiales website. There, you can run various simulations based on your situation to find out if you might be eligible for APL, ALS, or ALF subsidies. This simulation can also help confirm whether the budget you plan to set for your monthly rent aligns with the financial aid provided by the CAF.
If the simulation reveals that you can receive benefits, don’t delay in making your individual request for one of the subsidies and putting together your own application to obtain it. Remember, if you move from a single dwelling to a shared flat or make any other changes, you must report the change in circumstances to the CAF to continue receiving any of these benefits.
At Colivys, the lease contracts we offer our tenants/roommates are sublease contracts. We understand that administrative complexities in France can seem daunting and put many people off. Mistakes can easily happen, and that’s why we offer administrative support to our prospective tenants to streamline the process and save them time.
Our quick FAQ on APL and CAF in a shared accomodation
To get the APL, your income must be lower than the current minimum wage (SMIC), which is 1 603,12 € monthly in 2022. We still recommend you to simulate beforehand on the CAF website.
If you are declaring yourselves as a couple, you can also claim APL for the whole household. However, the method of calculation will be different, since the incomes of both partners will be taken into account. At Colivys, we establish a unique contract for the couple, in the name of one of the two persons. We mention the “duo option” on the lease contract.
Single people, couples, with or without children, employees, job seekers or even students can benefit from APL assistance. We recommend you to do a digital simulation of your rights to APL, ALS and ALF on the CAF website.
Since “coliving” and “co-renting” are similar, co-tenants can also benefit from APL, in the same way as tenants. However, the calculation method is not the same.
In a shared apartment or in a rental one”, the APL is only paid one month after the date of your application. The aid received is retroactive.
Generally, APL are paid on the 5th of each month (excluding weekends and holidays) by bank transfer, either to the tenant/flatmate/subtenant or directly to the owner.
