Urban Student

8 August 2026 · Urban Student

francehousingcost of livingpolicy

France cuts APL housing aid for non-EU students

Non-EU students without a French social-criteria scholarship lost access to APL, France’s main housing benefit, on 1 July 2026. The change follows a decree implementing the 2026 Finance Act and redirects a limited budget toward students the government considers most in need. If you’re budgeting for accommodation in France this year, don’t assume APL will cover part of your rent.

What changed

Decree No. 2026-552, published in the Official Journal on 28 June 2026, restricts APL (Aide Personnalisée au Logement) so that non-EU, non-EEA, non-Swiss students no longer qualify unless they hold a French scholarship awarded on social criteria (bourse sur critères sociaux). The restriction took effect on 1 July 2026.

The government frames the change as targeting a limited housing-aid budget at students who need it most, and says the measure affects a small share of France’s overall student population.

Who it affects

  • Self-funded non-EU students renting private or CROUS accommodation without a social-criteria scholarship.
  • Not affected: EU, EEA, and Swiss students, who keep full APL eligibility regardless of scholarship status.
  • Not affected: students on a French social-criteria scholarship, refugees, stateless persons, and spouses of non-EU students.
  • Not affected: students who are also employed, or on an apprenticeship or professionalisation contract, who may still qualify through that route.

What you should do

  • Recalculate your housing budget without assuming APL — check current entitlements directly with your local CAF rather than relying on figures from before July 2026.
  • Check your scholarship status carefully: a merit-based or partial scholarship is not the same as a “bourse sur critères sociaux,” and only the latter preserves APL eligibility.
  • If you were already receiving APL and your circumstances haven’t changed, confirm your ongoing status with the CAF rather than assuming continuity — the rules changed mid-cycle.
  • Revisit your cost of living budget for France, since housing assistance was often built into student cost estimates before this change.

What hasn’t changed

CAF housing assistance for EU students and scholarship holders is unaffected, and CROUS-managed student accommodation itself hasn’t changed — only the personal subsidy that used to reduce the rent for some non-EU tenants.

Sources