Free accommodation refers to the act of housing a person without asking for rent or any financial compensation. As soon as a relative moves in with you, even for a few weeks, several organizations must be informed. Declaring free accommodation is not limited to writing a certificate: the process involves taxation, social assistance, and home insurance.
Loan for use or cohabitation: two distinct legal regimes
Before any declaration, it is necessary to identify the exact situation. When the guest shares your own living space (a room in your home, a sofa bed in the living room), no specific legal framework applies. You live under the same roof, and the relationship remains informal.
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The situation changes if you provide a dwelling that you do not occupy, such as a second home or a vacant apartment. In this case, the Civil Code provides for a contract called loan for use (or commodat). This contract, although not mandatory, formalizes the duration of occupation, the condition of the property, and the terms of restitution. It protects both parties in case of a dispute.
Writing a loan for use document primarily avoids a tax risk: without documentation, the administration could reclassify the occupation as disguised rental and demand taxation on theoretical rents. The distinction between cohabitation and loan for use therefore conditions the entire procedure for free accommodation to be followed afterward.
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Certificate of free accommodation: content and administrative value
The certificate of free accommodation is the key document. Written on plain paper by the host, it serves as proof of residence for the accommodated person. Without it, it is impossible to open a bank account, register on the electoral rolls, or renew an identity card.
To be valid, this certificate must contain several specific elements:
- The complete identity of the host (name, first name, date and place of birth, address of the concerned dwelling).
- The identity of the accommodated person, with the same information.
- The explicit mention that the accommodation is granted free of charge, without financial compensation.
- The start date of the accommodation and, if possible, the expected duration.
- The handwritten signature of the host, accompanied by the date of writing.
The host must attach a copy of their identification and a proof of residence in their name (utility bill, tax notice). There is no Cerfa form for this certificate: a letter on honor is sufficient, provided it is complete.
Declaration to the tax authorities and impact on housing tax
The host must report the presence of an additional occupant in their income declaration. Specifically, this is done through the “Manage my real estate” section on the impots.gouv.fr website, where each occupant of the dwelling must be identified.
On the guest’s side, the situation is equally regulated. The person accommodated free of charge must declare this situation in their own income declaration by checking the box corresponding to free accommodation. This declaration allows the administration not to claim fictitious rent in the calculation of the reference taxable income.
For the housing tax on second homes, one point deserves attention. If you lend a vacant dwelling to a relative, this dwelling is exempt from the tax on vacant homes since it is occupied. The guest then becomes liable for the housing tax if the property constitutes their primary residence, knowing that the housing tax on primary residences has been abolished for all households.
Free accommodation and social assistance: CAF, RSA, and France Travail
Declaring free accommodation to the CAF directly affects the calculation of assistance. The accommodated person must report their situation in their personal space, under the “My housing” section. Failing to do so exposes them to an overpayment and a request for reimbursement.
The guest accommodated free of charge cannot receive APL, as no rent is paid. However, other benefits (activity bonus, family allowances) remain accessible, but their amount may vary according to the declared household composition.
For the RSA, some CAFs reclassify prolonged free accommodation as a benefit in kind for housing. The amount retained then aligns with the benefit in kind scales of Social Security, which may reduce the amount of RSA paid.
France Travail also requires reporting free accommodation as a change of situation, just like a move. This obligation, reiterated in the online assistance sheets updated in 2024, concerns beneficiaries of the ASS and the activity bonus.
Home insurance: a often overlooked point
The host must inform their insurer of the presence of an additional occupant. Without this notification, a claim caused by the guest may not be covered, or the insurer may invoke a false declaration to reduce compensation.
If the guest has valuable personal belongings, it is in their interest to take out their own liability insurance, or even specific home insurance. This personal coverage protects their belongings in case of water damage, fire, or theft.
- Inform the insurer in writing (letter or online client space) as soon as the guest arrives.
- Check that the clause “occupant free of charge” is included in the specific conditions of the contract.
- Ask the guest to provide a liability insurance certificate.
Declaring free accommodation involves several parties (tax authorities, CAF, France Travail, insurer), but each step remains simple as long as it is done within the deadlines. The main risk is not the administrative complexity: it is the forgetting of any one of these notifications, which can lead to a tax adjustment or the loss of social assistance several months after the move-in.