The gaugeSocial housing · income limits
Social housing in France: the 2026 income limits, your household category, the application and its renewal
For French social housing (HLM), the 2024 reference tax income of everyone to be housed is compared with three 2026 limits: PLAI, PLUS and PLS, which is the PLUS limit raised by 30% (article 1 of the arrêté of 29 July 1987). Outside Île-de-France, a single person must stay under €30,424 for PLS. The application lasts one year and must be renewed, otherwise it is cancelled (CCH, article R441-2-7).
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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.
Let’s look at your situation
Say who lives in the household, the town you are aiming for and the 2024 reference tax income.
Example questions
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Is your income under the French social housing limits?
Give the number of people to be housed, your situation, the area and the household’s 2024 reference tax income: the gauge places your income against the three 2026 limits, and your application date gives its renewal window. The example: a couple with one child outside Île-de-France, €30,000 of reference tax income.
Fictional example · social housing gauge
Above the PLAI limit, under the €37,584 PLUS limit: housing financed as PLUS and PLS.
- Household category
- 3
- PLAI limit
- €22,551
- PLUS limit
- €37,584
- PLS limit
- €48,859
- €22,551PLAI limit, the lowest
- €37,584PLUS limit
- €48,859PLS limit, the highest
Limits for mainland France on 1 January 2026. Being under a limit opens access without guaranteeing an allocation; the application can be filed whatever the income.
What is the highest income limit for each household?
The PLS limit, the highest of the three, caps access to social housing; the lower PLUS and PLAI limits apply to housing financed by those loans.
| Household category | Paris and neighbouring towns | Rest of Île-de-France | Other regions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1: a single person | €34,996 | €34,996 | €30,424 |
| 2: two people without dependants, other than a young couple | €52,303 | €52,303 | €40,630 |
| 3: three people, or a single person with one dependant, or a young couple | €68,562 | €62,871 | €48,859 |
| 4: four people, or a single person with two dependants | €81,858 | €75,309 | €58,986 |
| 5: five people, or a single person with three dependants | €97,395 | €89,150 | €69,389 |
| 6: six people, or a single person with four dependants | €109,595 | €100,322 | €78,203 |
| Per extra person | €12,212 | €11,177 | €8,723 |
PLUS limit of annex I raised by 30%, rounded to the euro. A holder of the inclusion mobility card marked invalidity moves the household up one category. The limits are revised every 1 January in line with the rent reference index (CCH, article R441-1).
Sources: Annex I · Arrêté 29/07/1987, art. 2 · CCH R441-1
Which income counts for French social housing?
The sum of the reference tax incomes (revenu fiscal de référence) of each person in the household, on the tax notices for the year before last before the lease is signed (article 4 of the arrêté of 29 July 1987): for an application made in 2026, the 2024 income shown on the 2025 notice, according to service-public fiche F869.
The household includes the tenants on the lease, the people on their tax notices, a cohabiting partner or Pacs partner and dependants in the tax sense (Construction and Housing Code, CCH, article L442-12). These are the limits for mainland France; overseas departments have other amounts.
Sources: Arrêté 29/07/1987, art. 4 · CCH L442-12 · Service-public F869
Which category is your household in?
The category follows the number of people, one step higher in three cases: a single person with dependants, a young couple without dependants, meaning a couple whose ages add up to 55 at most, and a household with a holder of the inclusion mobility card marked invalidity (article 2 of the arrêté).
Beyond 6 people, each extra person adds a fixed amount to the category 6 limit. Each limit also depends on the area: Paris and its neighbouring towns, the rest of Île-de-France, the other regions (annexes I and II).
Sources: Arrêté 29/07/1987, art. 2 · Annex I · Annex II
How do you file and renew a French social housing application?
Online or at a registration desk: the application is registered as soon as the form is received, with an identity document or, for a non-EU national, proof of lawful residence, and it gets a single national number. No prior residence requirement and no other document can delay it (CCH, article R441-2-3).
It lasts one year and is renewed every year, between the 10th and the 12th month, updating the information; a reminder comes at least one month before it expires, and without renewal the application is cancelled (CCH, article R441-2-7; fiche F32880).
Sources: CCH R441-2-3 · CCH R441-2-7 · Service-public F32880
What can you do if the wait for social housing lasts too long?
Each department sets an abnormally long waiting time, counted from the application date (fiche F10007). With no suitable offer within that time, a person who meets the access conditions can refer the case to the mediation committee of the enforceable right to housing (DALO), under article L441-2-3 of the CCH.
The committee can also be seized without any waiting time, in particular by a person with no home, facing eviction without rehousing or living in unsanitary premises.
Sources: Service-public F10007 · CCH L441-2-3
What does article 4 of the arrêté of 29 July 1987 say about the income used?
The text that sets the year of the income compared with the limits, and the exception for a recent fall.
Pour apprécier la situation de chaque ménage requérant au regard du plafond de ressources défini en annexe au présent arrêté, le montant des ressources à prendre en considération au cours d’une année donnée correspond à la somme des revenus fiscaux de référence au sens du 1° du IV de l’article 1417 du code général des impôts figurant sur les avis d’imposition de chaque personne composant le ménage établi au titre de l’avant-dernière année précédant celle de la signature du contrat de location.
In English, briefly (our summary, not an official translation): To assess each applicant household against the income limit in the annex, the resources taken into account in a given year are the sum of the reference tax incomes shown on the tax notices of each person in the household for the year before last before the year the lease is signed. The same article uses, at the household’s request, the income of the last calendar year or of the last twelve months if it is at least 10% lower, on proof.
What do social housing applicants in France ask?
Can you apply for social housing if your income is above the limits?
The application can be filed whatever the income, and service-public points out situations where the limit can be exceeded (fiche F869). Allocation, however, normally requires income under the limits (CCH, article R441-1).
Does being under the limit guarantee a home?
No. Allocation takes into account in particular the household’s assets, composition, income level and current housing conditions, the distance to work and the priorities set by law (CCH, article L441-1).
What if your income has fallen since 2024?
Ask for your taxable income of the last calendar year or of the last twelve months to be used, if it is at least 10% lower, with the supporting documents (article 4 of the arrêté of 29 July 1987).
How is a child in shared residence counted?
For the limit, the child is treated as living in each parent’s household (article 1 of the arrêté). The child’s own resources count only in the household the child is attached to for tax (article 4).
Does a spouse in a care home change the calculation?
Yes: the costs of housing one of the spouses or partners in an EHPAD (nursing home) are deducted from the applicant’s resources, up to the amount giving the tax reduction of article 199 quindecies of the General Tax Code (CCH, article R441-1).
Which texts is this social housing gauge based on?
- Arrêté of 29 July 1987, article 1 (limits, 30% increase for PLS)Légifrance, in French
- Arrêté of 29 July 1987, article 2 (household categories)Légifrance, in French
- Arrêté of 29 July 1987, article 4 (income used)Légifrance, in French
- Arrêté of 29 July 1987, annex I (2026 PLUS limits)Légifrance, in French
- Arrêté of 29 July 1987, annex II (2026 PLAI limits)Légifrance, in French
- Construction and Housing Code, article R441-1 (beneficiaries, yearly revision)Légifrance, in French
- Construction and Housing Code, article L442-12 (people living in the household)Légifrance, in French
- Construction and Housing Code, article R441-2-3 (registration of the application)Légifrance, in French
- Conditions for getting social housing (fiche F869)Service-public.fr, in French · checked by the publisher on 11 September 2026
- Construction and Housing Code, article R441-2-7 (one-year validity)Légifrance, in French
- Renewing a social housing application (fiche F32880)Service-public.fr, in French · checked by the publisher on 8 September 2026
- Social housing application (fiche F10007)Service-public.fr, in French · checked by the publisher on 11 September 2026
- Construction and Housing Code, article L441-2-3 (mediation committee)Légifrance, in French
- Construction and Housing Code, article L441-1 (allocation criteria)Légifrance, in French
Texts cited last checked: 26 September 2026