Personal assistance at the heart of housing policy in France
Type de matériel :
19
With some 6.3 million beneficiaries and a budget of over 18 billion euros, personal housing assistance is the main lever of the French housing policy. It is aimed at low-income households and its impact on household expenses and the reduction of inequality in living standards makes it one of the most important welfare benefits in the French redistributive system. Nevertheless, in recent years this aid has been frequently challenged as being too expensive, inflationist, poorly targeted in terms of both households and regions, and poorly coordinated with other social benefits directed at low-income families. While some of these criticisms are justified, the given responses—denial of rights for some of the eligible public or the total overhaul of the system—do not seem to properly address the issues. While adjustments—such as revising definitions of targets and zoning and coordinating with a rent control system—are needed so as to increase the efficiency of the current system, it is essential in the short term to reconnect the method of calculating housing benefits with the reality of the rental markets.
Réseaux sociaux