“My Decent Housing Bonus”, which will be implemented from 1 January 2024, is a new financial aid offered by the National Housing Agency (Anah) to combat substandard housing. It is actually a merger of two Anah programs reserved for low-income households that own old housing and intended to finance the implementation of work necessary to make housing safer or more comfortable and healthy.
These two aids, abolished after their combination in the new “My Decent Housing” subsidy, are:
- the “Healthy Living” system, which referred to medium-scale works intended mainly for the improvement of housing, such as the renovation of the electricity, gas and water networks
- the “Live peacefully” system, intended for larger works on the transformation of housing (strengthening the foundation, replacing the roof, installing a bathroom, etc.)
The aim of this merger is to improve the visibility and availability of this substandard housing assistance. Anah also intends to simplify its arsenal of financial aid to support the energy renovation of residential buildings in France, in parallel with the announced reform of its flagship aid MaPrimeRénov’, “to encourage more ambitious energy renovation projects”, and the launch on January 1, 2024 of MaPrimeAdapt’, “to satisfy the aspirations of the elderly to continue living at home with a completely peaceful life”.
The launch of “My Decent Housing Bonus” is part of a drive to accelerate the government’s fight against substandard housing. The bill “relating to the acceleration and simplification of the restoration of degraded housing and major development operations” must be examined in parliament in January 2024.
According to estimates put forward by the state, almost 420,000 private housing units are considered potentially unfit in mainland France and 100,000 in the overseas territories.
“My bonus for decent housing”, for whom?
The “My Decent Housing Bonus” subsidy is aimed, more or less, at the same public as the two Anah subsidies (“Live healthy” and “Live peacefully”) that it replaces from January 1, 2024.
The new aid is intended exclusively for:
- to the owners of the tenants
- landlords
To qualify, owners or landlords must demonstrate modest or very modest income.
IMPORTANT: Landlords belonging to middle or high income households are also eligible for Ma Prime Logement Decent. However, the amounts are smaller. In fact, the maximum acceptable amount is 28,000 euros per accommodation.
Tenants are not eligible for the “My Decent Housing Bonus” program.
What resources are required to use the bonus?
“My Decent Housing Bonus” is, like all assistance distributed by Anah, subject to resource requirements. Its eligibility is assessed with regard to the means of the applicant and all other persons living in the accommodation. In other words, the amount of work undertaken to restore very degraded substandard housing covered by the new subsidy varies depending on income levels and the caps in place.
The income of the applicant for assistance must not exceed the upper limit. It is classified into two categories: modest income and very modest income. Retained resource levels take into account the last available Reference Tax Revenue (RFR).
Eligibility is also studied with regard to the geographical location of the accommodation (in Île-de-France or in another region).
The table below shows the resource caps to which low-income households are subject in 2024 if they want to qualify for the My Decent Housing subsidy:
The table below sets out the resource ceilings that very modest households claiming My Decent Housing Bonus must respect in 2024:
“My Decent Housing Bonus”: acceptable accommodation
Not all accommodation qualifies for “My Decent Housing Bonus” assistance. The new support is especially aimed at unworthy and degraded housing.
Financing of renovation works of non-conditional residential buildings is exclusively reserved for old residential buildings:
- built for more than fifteen years
- which represents the main residence of the applicant for assistance
- after being the subject of an order for endangering health or danger
- or assessed by an expert using the Anah degradation network
The energy class of the property, materialized by a label ranging from “A” (efficient housing) to “G” (energy-consuming housing) with regard to the diagnosis of energy efficiency (DPE), however, does not constitute an acceptance criterion.
“My bonus for decent housing”, for which job?
My Decent Housing Bonus enables eligible owners (tenants or landlords) to finance the hard work of renovating their very degraded, substandard housing.
These renovation works, undertaken specifically to improve the energy efficiency of the dwelling, may not exceed a maximum cost of 70,000 euros excluding tax (HT). Furthermore, in order to claim aid, the intended work must cost at least 1,500 euros without tax.
The works covered by the new Anah subsidy are of a larger scale than those that were financed by the Living Healthy aid (a subsidy that was awarded for medium-scale works) or the Living Serene aid (which related to renovations of a slightly larger scale).
Renovated accommodation must at least reach the letter “E” after the completion of the works.
“My bonus for decent housing”, what amount?
The level of financing for difficult jobs through “Ma Bon Housing Decent” is not unique. It differs depending on the resource category to which the user belongs.
Grants thus enable the financing of:
- up to 80% of 70,000 euros of renovation works (ie covering a maximum of 56,000 euros of costs) for eligible households with very modest incomes
- up to 60% of 70,000 euros of renovation works (i.e. covering a maximum of 42,000 euros of costs) for eligible households with modest incomes
The financial support to which the new grant gives the right is therefore greater than the two grants it replaces, which can cover up to 50% of the total amount of the works. The upper limit of assistance is set at 10,000 euros for “Living healthy” (work of a limited scope, to improve the comfort, safety and/or sanitary conditions of housing) and 25,000 euros for “Living in peace” (large-scale renovation works for rehabilitation, safety and improving the comfort of the old housing).
NOTE: if the renovation work undertaken allows the accommodation to avoid “energy sieve” status (a dwelling classified as “F” or “G” by the DPE), the owner may receive a revaluation of 10% of the premium. As a result, funding through My Decent Housing Prime achieves:
- up to 90% of work for households with very modest incomes up to 70,000 euros (ie covering 63,000 euros of expenses)
- up to 70% of 70,000 euros of renovation works for eligible households with modest incomes (ie covering a maximum of 49,000 euros of costs)
For landlords belonging to households with medium or high incomes, the maximum acceptable amount is 28,000 euros per accommodation. In this particular case, an agreement between the owner-lessor and Anah is mandatory.
How to claim “My decent housing bonus”?
The application for the use of the “My Decent Housing Prime” benefit is submitted directly online from the website of the National Housing Agency (Anah), via the address https://monprojet.anah.gouv.fr/po/pristup/news. First you need to create a personal account.
It is Anah who determines the eligibility (or not) of the applicant for the premium.
“My bonus for decent housing”: what kind of support?
Obtaining the “My Decent Housing bonus” is subject to the mandatory support of a qualified owner by a Project Management Assistant (AMO).
It is the National Housing Agency (Anah) which, after giving its approval for the right to a new subsidy, is responsible for sending this officer to the owner’s house to assess the level of indecency and unsanitary housing.
A licensed project management assistant helps the owner define the nature of the work to be undertaken to restore their highly degraded substandard housing. It also has the ability to perform technical assessments and diagnostics necessary for the establishment of the project.
IMPORTANT: the work must be carried out by professionals, otherwise the owner will lose the right to “My decent housing”.
“My bonus for decent housing”: what are the rules for accumulation?
The new aid “My bonus for decent housing” can be combined with:
- help in adapting to the loss of autonomy
- local help
On the other hand, the subsidy cannot be granted to owners who have used a zero interest rate loan (PTZ) for ownership in the last five years.