Housing benefits and allowances instituted for tenants living in Monaco

 

With limited land available for construction, property prices in Monaco are notoriously high – arguably the highest in the world. Finding accommodation in Monaco can therefore prove difficult for tenants on modest incomes, whether Monegasque or of other nationalities.

For this reason, and to continue fulfilling its social role, the State has introduced housing assistance schemes to prevent rent from becoming too great a burden. Subject to certain conditions, tenants may receive either the National Housing Allowance (Aide Nationale au Logement – ANL) for Monegasque nationals, or the Differential Rent Allowance (Allocation Différentielle de Loyer – ADL) for others.

These schemes are administered by the Direction de l’Habitat (Monaco’s Housing Authority), to which an application must be submitted together with all supporting documents relating to household composition, income and the tenancy.

 

 

I. The National Housing Allowance
 

a. Terms and conditions

 

The ANL is an allowance for Monegasque nationals with a regular income who hold a residential tenancy agreement registered with Monaco’s Direction des Services Fiscaux (Tax Department), regardless of the housing sector concerned. The tenancy must be held in the name of the person applying for the allowance. The terms governing the ANL are set out in Ministerial Order No. 2024-552 of 10 October 2024 relating to the National Housing Allowance.

 

The ANL is paid in advance each calendar quarter and is calculated according to income, rent and whether the household’s normal housing need is met. It cannot be combined with any other housing assistance or allowance received by the household.

 

The household’s normal housing need is determined as follows, based on the number of people habitually living there, together with a reference rent published each year in the Journal de Monaco (Monaco’s official gazette). The most recent publication is dated 24 October 2025 and applies for 2026:

 

Number of people in the household	Housing need	Reference rent
		One person or a couple	Studio or 2-room flat	Studio	€ 3,000
2-room flat	€ 5,580
A couple with one child (or a single person with one child)	3-room flat	€ 9,290
A couple with two children (or a single person with two children)	4-room flat	€ 13,490
A couple with three children (or a single person with three children)	5-room flat	€ 16,850
A couple with four children (or a single person with four children)	6-room flat	€ 16,850

Table: Normal housing need and reference rent

 

The rent-to-income ratio must represent at least 20% of household income, except for people aged over 65, for whom it is reduced to 10%.

The 10% rate also applies to the income of a spouse under 65 only if that spouse is retired. Otherwise, and for any other person living in the household, 20% of their income is taken into account.

 

The amount of the ANL is the difference between the rent actually paid and the required rent-to-income contribution. If the rent is lower than the reference rent, it may be increased by 20% (up to the reference rent) to account for service charges on a flat-rate basis.

 

Where the normal housing need is not met and applicants have an additional room, a coefficient is applied, equal to two-thirds of the actual rent excluding charges, provided this amount does not exceed the ANL ceiling.

 

In all cases, the allowance cannot exceed 60% of the assessed rent (or the reference rent, if higher), except for people aged over 65, for whom there is no percentage cap and the amount is assessed on a case-by-case basis according to the applicant’s circumstances. Lastly, to be eligible for the ANL, the applicant’s rent-to-income ratio (including charges) must not exceed 35% of their income, excluding the ANL loan described below, which can raise this ratio to 40%.

 

b. The advance-of-costs loan

Another strand of the scheme allows people likely to receive the ANL, where their circumstances justify it, to apply for an interest-free loan repayable over 4 years, provided this does not push their rent-to-income ratio above 40% of their income.

The aim is to advance certain costs associated with moving in, such as the security deposit.

 

Two types of loan are available:

• the loan amount is added to the agreed rent-to-income contribution;
• with the exception of 2- and 3-room flats in the free sector, for which the loan is repayable when the tenant leaves the property, meaning it has no impact on the rent-to-income ratio.

However, for recipients living in the free sector, the agency fee may be covered by the State (once per household, per property type), subject to meeting several cumulative conditions set out in the current Order – in particular: not having returned State-owned (domanial) housing matching their normal housing need within the previous twelve months, not having income above a threshold set by the domanial housing income scale, and not having refused domanial housing allocated by the Commission. The security deposit may in turn be funded by an interest-free loan, deducted from the ANL or repaid in a single instalment at the end of the tenancy.
 

For people aged over 65, where their circumstances justify it, the agency fee may be covered by the State for a first application, regardless of the housing sector.

 

This loan is not granted automatically and, where applicable, must be applied for before entering into any commitment or signing a tenancy agreement. Applicants are therefore advised to contact the Housing Authority, which will review the application beforehand.

 

In all cases, the loan must be applied for no later than one month after the tenancy takes effect. Once granted, the terms are set out in an acknowledgement of debt, and repayments are then deducted from the ANL. At the end of the tenancy, any outstanding amounts must be repaid in full.

 

 

 

II. The Differential Rent Allowance

a. Terms and conditions

The ADL is an allowance paid to tenants personally and actually occupying a property governed by Law No. 1.235 of 28 December 2000 (the protected sector), regardless of nationality. In practice, it mainly benefits non-Monegasque residents, since Monegasque nationals fall directly under the National Housing Allowance.

To qualify, applicants must:

• live in a flat governed by Law No. 1.235 of 28 December 2000, relating to the letting of certain residential premises built or completed before 1 September 1947;
• not own or hold a life interest in, within Monaco or within a 15-kilometre radius, residential premises matching their normal housing need which they could lawfully occupy.

The ADL is paid monthly or quarterly, depending on how rent is paid, and cannot be combined with any other housing assistance or allowance received by the household. Entitlement depends on three factors: household income, rent, and whether the household’s normal housing need is met.

 

1. Household income

The income taken into account is that of the applicant and, where applicable, of the people habitually living in the household, over the 12 months preceding the application. Household income must not exceed the amounts set out in Sovereign Ordinance No. 11.155 of 21 March 2025 (see table below).

 

2. Rent

The rent taken into account is subject to a reference rent, the criteria for which are published each year in the Journal de Monaco. The ADL cannot normally exceed 50% of that rent and, in certain cases, may be capped at 60% of the assessed rent;

 

3. The household’s normal housing need

This is determined under Article 5 of the above Ordinance, based on the household’s composition:

Table: Normal housing need and reference rent

 

However, tenants whose home does not match this normal housing need may still receive the ADL, calculated on their monthly rent reduced in proportion to the number of rooms that would satisfy their normal housing need. In this case, the rent used to calculate the ADL cannot exceed the reference rent for the type of accommodation that matches the household’s normal housing need.

 

b. Calculating the allowance

Article 8 of the Ordinance sets out how the ADL is calculated: it is equal to the difference between:

• the monthly reference rent set out above, or the actual rent if lower than that reference rent, and
• 20% of one-twelfth of the household’s annual income, reduced to 10% for people aged over 65.

 

In all cases, the ADL cannot exceed 50% of the rent used for its calculation. However, the recipient’s personal contribution cannot exceed 20% of their household income, provided the ADL is calculated on the basis of accommodation matching their normal housing need, with rent not exceeding the reference rent for that type of property.

 

c. The move-in loan

As with ANL recipients, those eligible for the ADL may, where their circumstances justify it, receive a loan designed to help them move into rented accommodation, by advancing the costs of the security deposit and, where applicable, the agency fee. This advance is paid directly to the landlord and never to the tenant.

The loan is not granted automatically and, where applicable, must be applied for before entering into any commitment or signing a tenancy agreement.

Once granted, the loan, at an interest rate of 1% per year, is calculated on the basis of the assessed rent for accommodation matching the household’s normal housing need, within the limit set out above for that housing need. It is repayable over 3 years by deduction from the ADL received by the loan recipient. Once granted, the terms are set out in an acknowledgement of debt.

 

 

III. Conclusion

 

Generous support that evolves over time

The most recent report published by IMSEE (Monaco’s statistics institute) in 2020 showed that a significant number of households benefited from housing support: 947 ANL recipients, across all housing sectors, receiving an average of € 809 per month, and 340 ADL recipients receiving an average of € 553 per month.

For both the ANL and the ADL, amounts may be revised if there is a change in the recipient’s family, financial or rental circumstances. Recipients are therefore required to declare their income each year, to confirm that the conditions for the allowance continue to be met. In the event of a false declaration or any other breach, these allowances may be suspended and any amounts overpaid become immediately repayable.

The Valeri Agency team is on hand to help you find accommodation suited to your needs and, where necessary, to support you through the administrative process of applying for housing assistance.

This article is provided for information purposes only and must not be used as a reference for calculating housing assistance. Only the Housing Authority (Direction de l’Habitat) can confirm the exact amount of assistance granted, based on the documents supplied by the applicant.