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The gaugeHousing benefit · APL

APL housing benefit in France: the rent ceiling by zone and household, the housing conditions and the taper for high rents

By the AlphaDeep legal editorial teamPublished Drafted with AI assistance, references last checked: our method

For the French APL housing benefit, rent excluding charges only counts up to a ceiling set by zone and household: €399.89 in zone II for a household with one dependant, for aid due from October 2025 to September 2026. A flat charges amount is added. Except for AAH/AEEH, above 2.5 to 3.4 times the ceiling, the aid falls, then stops (CCH, article D823-16). The scale is revised every 1 October.

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Julie by AlphaDeep is an AI legal assistant for French law: it researches official references to help answer your questions (Légifrance, case law, service-public), analyses your documents and drafts your letters, for individuals and professionals alike.

General legal information with official references and dated checks. It is not personalised advice: for a decision that commits you, have your situation checked by a qualified professional.

Is your rent under the APL ceiling?

Give the zone, your household, the rent excluding charges and, if you wish, the surface and the number of occupants: the gauge places the rent against the ceiling, the taper threshold and the cut-off threshold. The example: a couple with one child in zone II, €620 of rent, 48 m².

Optional, with the number of occupants, to check the minimum surface.

Fictional example · APL gauge

Rent counted up to €399.89: €220.11 stays outside the calculation.

Rent ceiling
€399.89
Rent counted
€399.89
Flat charges amount
€74.33
Rent and charges counted, before your contribution
€474.22
Your rent against the APL ceilings
  • €400Rent ceiling
  • €1,000Taper starts
  • €1,240Aid nil

Surface large enough: at least 25 m² for this number of occupants.

Verified scale for aid due from October 2025 to September 2026. From October 2026 this gauge gives no amount; the scale is revised every 1 October. The amount of aid also depends on your income: the CAF deducts your personal contribution.

Which home qualifies for the APL?

Your main home, lived in for at least eight months a year by you, your spouse or a dependant, except for work obligations, health reasons or force majeure (Construction and Housing Code, CCH, article R822-23). The home must be decent and measure at least 9 m² for a single person, 16 m² for two, plus 9 m² per extra person, up to 70 m² for eight people or more (articles R822-24 and R822-25).

For a rented home, the APL covers a home under an agreement with the State (conventionné) (article R831-1); without one, the family or social housing allowances can be paid instead (article L821-1).

Sources: CCH R822-23 · CCH R822-25 · CCH R831-1

Summary card: the APL is worked out on rent excluding charges up to a ceiling set by zone and household, €399.89 in zone II with one dependant for aid due October 2025 to September 2026, except for AAH or AEEH recipients, aid reduced above 2.5 to 3.4 times the ceiling, scale revised every 1 October.
French APL: rent ceiling and taper, aid due October 2025 to September 2026.

How does the rent ceiling limit the APL?

The aid is worked out on the main rent taken up to a ceiling, plus a flat charges amount, minus a personal contribution that depends on income (CCH, article D823-16). The ceiling depends on the town’s zone I, II or III and on the household, except for a room (articles 7 and 8 of the arrêté of 27 September 2019).

The part of the rent above the ceiling is not counted, but it does not remove the right. For aid due from October 2025 to September 2026, the flat charges amount is €60.59 for a single person or a couple, plus €13.74 per dependant (article 9). Paid private hosting of an elderly person or disabled adult has a specific 75% room ceiling: this gauge does not calculate that regime.

Sources: CCH D823-16 · Arrêté 27/09/2019, art. 7 · Arrêté 27/09/2019, art. 10 · Arrêté, article 8 · Arrêté, article 9

When does the APL start to taper?

When the main rent passes a first ceiling, the aid falls in proportion to the excess, until it is nil at a second one (CCH, article D823-16). These ceilings are 3.4 and 4 times the rent ceiling in zone I, 2.5 and 3.1 times in zones II and III (article 10 of the arrêté of 27 September 2019).

This reduction does not apply when you or your spouse receive the adult disability allowance (AAH) or the disabled child education allowance (AEEH).

Sources: CCH D823-16 · Arrêté 27/09/2019, art. 10

Which income does the CAF take into account for the APL?

The CAF counts the income of the applicant, the spouse and the people usually living in the home (CCH, article R822-2). It is reviewed every three months; earnings reported by employers are taken over twelve months, from the thirteenth to the second month before the right opens or is reviewed (article R822-3).

Above €30,000 of property and financial assets, excluding the main home and business assets, assets that produce no taxable income enter the calculation (article R822-22).

Sources: CCH R822-3 · CCH R822-22

What is the rent ceiling for your zone and household?

For aid due from October 2025 to September 2026: the monthly ceiling on rent excluding charges and the taper thresholds, apart from the AAH/AEEH exception.

Monthly APL rent ceilings, arrêté of 27 September 2019, aid due from October 2025 to September 2026; no October 2026 amount extrapolated
HouseholdZone IZone IIZone III
Single person€333.14€290.34€272.12
Couple without dependants€401.78€355.38€329.88
Single person or couple with one dependant€454.10€399.89€369.88
Per extra dependant€65.89€58.21€53.01
Room, general case, whatever the household€299.83€261.31€244.91
Aid reduced above3.4 times the ceiling2.5 times the ceiling2.5 times the ceiling
Aid nil from4 times the ceiling3.1 times the ceiling3.1 times the ceiling

Main rent excluding charges; the flat charges amount is added. Elderly people or disabled adults hosted for payment by private individuals have the specific article 8 ceiling, not calculated here. Your town’s zone can be checked on the service-public or CAF simulator.

Sources: Arrêté 27/09/2019, art. 7 · Arrêté 27/09/2019, art. 10 · Arrêté, article 8 · Arrêté, article 9

What is changing for the APL in 2025 and 2026?

A scale revised every autumn, and a new condition for some foreign students.

  1. Rent ceilings and the flat charges amount revised, for aid due from October 2025 to September 2026: these are the verified amounts on this page (articles 7 to 9 of the arrêté of 27 September 2019).

    Sources: Arrêté 27/09/2019, art. 7 · Arrêté 27/09/2019, art. 10

  2. Since July 2026, the restriction concerns students who are nationals of countries outside the EU, EEA or Switzerland, holding a study visa or residence permit covered by CESEDA articles L422-1 to L422-7. CCH article L822-2 sets the needs-based grant conditions; F12006 also mentions paid work and apprenticeship or professionalisation contracts. Have your status and file checked: foreign nationality alone does not make this restriction apply.

    Sources: CCH L822-2 · Service-public F12006 · CSS L512-2

  3. The scale is revised every year on this date, following the rent reference index: rent ceilings and the flat charges amount are covered (CCH, article L823-4). No October 2026 amount is extrapolated here.

    Source: CCH L823-4

What does article D823-16 of the CCH say about the rent counted?

The text of the APL formula, its rent ceiling and the taper.

2° « L » est le loyer éligible, correspondant au loyer principal pris en compte dans la limite d’un plafond fixé par arrêté en fonction de la zone géographique et, sauf dans le cas où le logement occupé est une chambre, de la composition familiale ;

Le montant ainsi calculé est diminué lorsque le loyer principal dépasse un plafond de dégressivité. Il décroît proportionnellement au dépassement de ce plafond, de telle sorte qu’il soit nul lorsqu’il atteint un plafond de suppression.

Article D823-16 of the Construction and Housing Code (extract, in French)Version in force on 26 September 2026 (in force since 1 September 2019)Read the article on Légifrance (in French)

In English, briefly (our summary, not an official translation): The eligible rent L is the main rent taken into account up to a ceiling set by order according to the geographical zone and, except when the home is a room, the household. The amount calculated is reduced when the main rent exceeds a taper ceiling; it falls in proportion to the excess, so that it is nil when the rent reaches a cut-off ceiling. The same article excludes this reduction when the applicant or spouse receives the AAH or the AEEH.

What do tenants ask about the APL?

Does rent above the ceiling mean losing the APL?

No. Only the part above the ceiling is ignored: the aid is still worked out on the ceiling. Except for AAH/AEEH recipients, it only falls above the taper threshold, 2.5 to 3.4 times the ceiling depending on the zone (CCH, article D823-16).

Can a student get the APL?

A student may qualify if the entitlement conditions are met, including residence rules. For the forfait, article R822-20 also requires a rental, continuing studies and the age conditions for a needs-based grant. Article 6, in its version since January 2025, sets €8,600 for a rental or €6,900 with a non-taxable higher-education grant. These amounts do not themselves establish APL entitlement.

Can you get the APL for a home you partly own?

In principle not, if you, your spouse, an ascendant or a descendant hold a share of the ownership or usufruct of the home; the aid remains possible if all these shares together are below 10% (CCH, articles L822-3 and R822-1).

Must the home have a minimum surface?

Yes: 9 m² for a single person, 16 m² for two people, then 9 m² per extra person, up to 70 m² for eight people or more (CCH, article R822-25).

Which guides should you read around housing benefit?

Which texts is this APL gauge based on?

  1. Construction and Housing Code, article D823-16 (aid formula)Légifrance, in French
  2. Arrêté of 27 September 2019, articles 7 and 8 (rent ceilings)Légifrance, in French
  3. Arrêté of 27 September 2019, articles 9 and 10 (flat charges, taper coefficients)Légifrance, in French
  4. Construction and Housing Code, article R822-23 (main home)Légifrance, in French
  5. Construction and Housing Code, article R822-25 (minimum surface)Légifrance, in French
  6. Construction and Housing Code, article R831-1 (homes that qualify for the APL)Légifrance, in French
  7. Construction and Housing Code, articles R822-2 and R822-3 (income, quarterly review)Légifrance, in French
  8. Construction and Housing Code, article R822-22 (assets above €30,000)Légifrance, in French
  9. Construction and Housing Code, article L822-2 (beneficiaries, version of 1 July 2026)Légifrance, in French
  10. Personalised housing aid (fiche F12006)Service-public.fr, in French · checked by the publisher on 1 July 2026
  11. Arrêté of 27 September 2019, article 8: general room case and paid private hosting; aid due October 2025 to September 2026Légifrance, in French
  12. Arrêté of 27 September 2019, article 9: charges; aid due October 2025 to September 2026Légifrance, in French
  13. Social Security Code, article L512-2: EU, EEA, Swiss nationals and other foreignersLégifrance, in French
  14. Arrêté of 27 September 2019, article 6: student forfait, version since January 2025Légifrance, in French
  15. Housing Code, article R822-20: student forfait conditionsLégifrance, in French
  16. Construction and Housing Code, article L823-4 (revision every 1 October)Légifrance, in French

Texts cited last checked: 26 September 2026