What is the Caf?
The Caf (Caisse d'allocations familiales) is the structure in charge of granting welfare benefits (called prestations) to low-income French residents. These benefits include: prime d'activité (for low salaries), APL (for low-income households, covering part of the rent costs)...
Rent benefits
Foreign students, like French students, can request welfare benefits to help with paying their rent. This benefit was created to offset the rise of rent.
This benefit is calculated according to the resources of your household (alone, with flatmates...), to your accommodation, and your rent. It is not automatically set-up, you need to request it online on the CAF website. If you move out, you need to inform the Caf, so that your benefits are re-calculated.
To be eligible, you need to fulfill the conditions below:
- Already be living in your accommodation, to indicate its address and the rent
- Be covered by French social security
- Have a French bank account on which to receive the benefits
The video below (in French) explains how to send a request: