Applying for social and affordable housing in France

To apply for social housing, you must:

• have residency rights authorising you to live in France for more than three months
• not exceed the maximum amount of resources. This amount depends on the type of accommodation, its location and the number of people to be housed, and varies depending on the French departments.

If you have received a telephone allocated by a judge called the “Téléphone Grave Danger”, or serious danger phone, and you apply for social housing, this accommodation can be allocated to you automatically.

You can contact the organisation responsible for managing the “Téléphone Grave Danger” and that assisted you for more information about the procedure for applying for social housing in your situation.

If you lived with your partner and are leaving the home due to domestic abuse, you are considered a priority for obtaining social housing. Applicable law: “Code de la construction et de l’habitation”, art. L-441.1.”

You should receive social housing more quickly than it usually takes. However, waiting times vary dramatically depending on the department where you live, and are sometimes very long.

Documents to provide

In your application, you will need to include the following documents:

• a photo of your identity document, e.g. both sides of your identity card or your passport
• a photo of your residence permit or “titre de séjour” if you are not a citizen of a member state of the European Union
• documents that can prove your financial resources, such as payslips and tax notices
• if you have experienced domestic abuse, documents proving the abuse you have suffered:
  • a judgement from the family court judge or “juge aux affaires familiales (JAF)”, for example a provisional decision that sets out emergency measures or a protection order or “ordonnance de protection”
  • or a document proving that you have filed a complaint with the police, known as the “récépissé de plainte”
  • in practice, some of the organisations that manage social housing known as “bailleurs sociaux” also accept a document called "attestation" from an organisation known as an "association" or from a social worker known as "travailleur social" or "assistante sociale".

Even if you do not have all these documents, you can still apply online. However, you will need to provide a photo of your residence permit or “titre de séjour”.
 

Applying online

The majority of social housing applications are now submitted online.

The steps are as follows:

• Log in to this website and fill in the form.
• Upload the different documents requested. Make sure your application is as complete as possible.
• Once your application has been registered, someone will verify the copy of your identity document and validate your application.
• Once your application has been validated, you will receive an application number called a “numéro unique d’enregistrement” within five working days of submitting your application. This number will allow you to follow the progress of your case online.

Applying in person

It is also possible to submit your application in person at a branch.

You must complete this form and submit it together with all the documents requested.

You can find a list of available branches in your town or city on this website:

• click on “Connaître les offres de logements sociaux sur une commune”
• enter your postcode
• select “Consulter la liste des guichets” at the bottom of the page.

Getting help

If you are not sure how to complete your application, you can make an appointment with a professional who will help you fill it in.

If you are an employee, some companies have a housing program. You can ask your employer to put you in touch with your company's social worker or health service.

Finding accommodation

Once your application has been recorded, you can find accommodation in several ways:

• Either wait until you receive an offer of accommodation that meets your criteria as much as possible. Unfortunately, the time it takes to obtain social housing can vary from weeks to many years depending on the region.
• Apply directly for housing advertised by “bailleurs sociaux”. Sometimes there are search sites by department, such as this website for Paris. You can ask about how to apply for offers in your area by contacting your local town hall or “mairie”.
• Apply for housing advertised via a system for rehousing victims of domestic abuse offered by these organisations.

You can track the progress of your case online with your application number or “numéro unique d’enregistrement”.

Remember to update your contact details if they change so you don’t miss out on an offer.

Highlighting the urgency of your situation

In order to speed up the acquisition of social housing, it can be useful to follow a procedure called the enforceable right to housing or “droit au logement opposable (Dalo)” with the departmental committee known as the “commission de médiation”.

To do so, you must meet the conditions for allocating social housing, as well as at least one of the following criteria:

• have been requesting social housing for an abnormally long waiting period without having received an offer suited to your needs
• be homeless; for example, if you are staying with people close to you
• have a court decision that evicts you from your home
• have been staying in a hostel or hotel for more than six months
• be housed in premises unsuitable for habitation, or which are unsanitary or dangerous
• have a disability, or have a person with a disability in your care
• have at least one child who is a minor and occupy an improper or over-occupied dwelling.

It is recommended that you seek the support of professionals to do this.

The procedure to follow will depend on whether you live in the Ile-de-France region or in another region. This is detailed on this website.

If you're staying in a hostel or “foyer”, they can help you apply for social housing through an emergency program called "Système Priorité Logement (SYPLO)". This will help ensure that your application is treated in priority.

Renewing your application every year

If you do not receive a response after one year and you still want to obtain social housing, you must renew your application.

You can renew your application:

• online on the site where you registered it, with your application number or “numéro unique d’enregistrement”
• or at the office where you submitted your first application.