How does shared housing work with the CAF?

It is possible to receive housing assistance when you live in a shared apartment if you meet certain APL conditions (income ceilings and nature of the housing).

Moreover, to benefit from housing assistance from the CAF or MSA (if you are under the agricultural scheme) when you are a roommate, your name must appear on the lease and each occupant of the housing must submit their own application to the CAF (see all conditions). It is also necessary to distinguish between roommates and cohabitation, which grant different rights to beneficiaries (see difference).

In the case of co-implantation, the calculation of the FCA differs depending on the nature of the lease signed by the occupants: if a single lease is signed for all roommates, the CAF is based on the single release to calculate the amount of assistance and divides the total rent by the number of occupants. In the case of individual leases, the calculation is done in the same way as a conventional lease. Additionally, the resources of each roommate and the nature of their home are also taken into account to determine the amount of APL paid (see how APL is calculated in shared housing).

To apply for LPA, each roommate must go to the CAF website and create their own file (see here).

To learn how to access APL in shared housing, check the rest of this article.

Summary

APL roommate: the rules for granting this housing assistance

Cohabitation, subletting, shared housing: a right to LPA that differs

What are the conditions to receive APL in shared housing?

Amount of shared housing APL: how is the calculation done?

APL shared housing application: How to fill out your application?

APL roommate: the rules for granting this housing assistance

It is possible to receive housing allowances when you are in shared housing, but the conditions required by the CAF must be met.

Cohabitation, subletting, shared housing: a right to LPA that differs

First of all, it is important to not confuse shared housing and cohabitation, two concepts that lead to different payments from the CAF.

Indeed, for the CAF, shared housing is defined by the fact that two or more people share the same housing, but without living as a couple or cohabiting. In contrast, cohabitation concerns people who live in the same housing while being in a couple or cohabiting.

The application for APL and the rights that beneficiaries can claim depend on the following three situations:

In shared housing: each occupant of the housing submits their own application and indicates their income and share of rent
In cohabitation or living together: both couples submit a single application and indicate their combined income
Subletting LPA: The tenant and the sub-tenant must meet age criteria. Additionally, both parties must be eligible for APL and submit separate applications. It is not mandatory to notify the landlord in writing. Simple oral information is sufficient

Attention: it is imperative to accurately declare your actual situation. The FCA considers cohabitation in the same way as PACS and marriage, opening very specific rights.

There are risks in case of non-declaration.

What are the conditions to access APL in shared housing?

In shared housing, you must comply with the following conditions to be eligible for AAL payments:

Included in the lease: it is not enough to pay rent to be considered a roommate by the CAF. Your name must be included in the rental agreement. The same applies to all other occupants who wish to receive housing assistance.
Submit your own application: Since the LPA is, as its name indicates, a personalized aid, each roommate must take their own steps in which their resources and personal situation will be taken into account.
Request your primary residence: the unit targeted by your APL application must be your primary residence (you must live there for at least 8 months of the year).
Do not have a family relationship with your landlord (learn more about housing assistance if rented from your family): no ascendants or descendants between the roommate and the landlord. This also applies to your spouse, partner, or significant other: they must also not have a family relationship with the landlord.
Do not exceed CAF ceilings: your resources must be below the CAF limit.
Live in a housing under contract: APL only concerns housing for which the landlord has signed an agreement with the state in which they commit to rent their housing under certain conditions.

If you meet all these conditions, you will claim APL payment. The amount paid often varies from one roommate to another, depending on the share of rent paid by each individual and the professional and personal situation of each occupant.

Amount of shared housing APL: how is the calculation done?

The calculation of APL in the case of a roommate is similar to that of a usual rent as it will take into account the resources from the previous year as well as the nature of the roommate’s home.

The amount of APL paid to each roommate is calculated based on the following elements:

The nature of the lease: in the case of a roommate, two options are possible (see below)
Resources of each occupant: regardless of the nature of the lease, the CIF always uses the resources of each roommate to calculate the amount of benefits paid
Composition of each roommate’s household: your marital status and the number of dependents will be taken into account in the calculation of APL

Depending on the nature of your lease, the calculation of shared housing APL differs:

Option 1 — A single lease is signed by all occupants: in this case, each roommate appears on the lease and the occupants are all jointly responsible for paying the rent and the deposit. The landlord provides a single version for all. To calculate the amount of APL, the CAF then divides the total rent by the number of occupants.
Option 2 — Each roommate signs an individual lease: the procedure for granting AAL is the same as for a conventional lease. Each occupant has rental receipts in their name, and the CAF only takes into account your resources and the information contained in your rental agreement.

Attention: shared housing often leads to fairly frequent changes in occupants. In the case of a single lease, it is imperative to notify the CAF of each departure and arrival of roommates: the change in the number of occupants affects the amount of assistance paid and must therefore be revised accordingly. Inform your fund if the lease changes.

Are APL payments to roommates lower than those paid to tenants?

It may be that, with equal resources, the amount of APL paid to roommates is significantly lower than that paid under conventional leases. This is explained by the CAF’s calculation.

The rent ceiling taken into account is indeed different for roommates, as it corresponds to 75% of the ceiling for a single tenant.

This difference is justified by the principle of pooling certain expenses in the case of a roommate, which should allow for reduced household expenses for all occupants.

APL shared housing application: How to fill out your application?

The LPA application for roommates is made in the same way as for a conventional rental, that is to say directly online on the CAF or MSA website.

Whether you are already a beneficiary or not, you can perform an APL simulation as a roommate, like all tenants (which is not the case with landlord APL, in which case you must turn to the CAF for all steps).

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How does shared housing work with the CAF?