The rent certificate is a form that the landlord fills out and signs to allow their tenant to request housing assistance from the CAF. Without this document, the application remains blocked and no APL, ALS, or ALF payments can be made. The reference form is Cerfa 10842*07, which can be downloaded from the service-public.fr website or accessed directly from the landlord space on caf.fr.
Cerfa paper or online entry: two channels, very different timelines
Since 2024-2025, the CAF has been encouraging landlords to directly enter the rent certificate online, via the landlord space or the CAF Pro partner portal. Both formats coexist, but their practical consequences differ significantly.
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The PDF Cerfa is downloaded, printed, filled out by hand or on a computer, and then must be sent by mail or scanned and sent via the beneficiary space. This process adds a postal delivery delay and a risk of manual re-entry by CAF agents, which increases the possibility of errors.
The online entry via the landlord space eliminates these intermediate steps. The fields are checked at the time of entry (date format, consistency of the rent amount, beneficiary number), which reduces application rejections. A landlord with a CAF identifier or a SIRET number can also track their tenants’ applications, declared rents, and payments online.
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Obtaining a rent certificate for the CAF electronically remains the most reliable way to avoid administrative blockage at the start of the lease.
Filling out the rent certificate without errors: problematic sections
The form has several sections. Some are simple (tenant’s identity, housing address), while others frequently cause rejections.
Rent amount excluding charges and actual charges
The CAF distinguishes between the main rent and additional charges. Entering a total amount (rent + charges) in the “rent” box is the most common mistake. The landlord must break down the two amounts as they appear in the lease. If the lease provides for a flat rate for charges, that flat rate must be shown, not an estimate.
Conventional or non-conventional housing
This box determines the type of assistance granted. A conventional housing opens the right to APL, while non-conventional housing directs towards ALS or ALF. Checking the wrong box does not always immediately block the application, but it causes a subsequent recalculation that may result in an overpayment to be refunded.
In case of doubt, the landlord can verify the convention with the National Housing Agency or consult the agreement signed with the State, which is in their rental management archives.
Move-in date and landlord’s signature
The effective date of the lease conditions the starting point for calculating rights. As long as the signed certificate has not reached the CAF, the application remains blocked and the first month of assistance may be lost. The landlord’s signature (or that of their representative) is mandatory: an unsigned document will be systematically rejected.
- Ensure that the move-in date exactly matches that of the lease, not the date of key handover if it differs.
- Sign the document before sending it, even in digitized form (scanned handwritten signature accepted).
- Keep a dated copy for the landlord and one for the tenant.
Direct payment to the landlord: an option to set up from the start
The certificate includes a section where the landlord can request that the housing assistance be paid directly to them, rather than to the tenant. This mechanism, called third-party payment, has concrete benefits for both parties.
For the owner, direct payment secures the collection of part of the rent. The tenant, for their part, only pays the difference between the rent and the assistance, which reduces the amount to be advanced each month.
This option must be checked at the first submission of the certificate. Changing it afterward requires a new form and a new processing delay. If the landlord manages multiple properties via CAF Pro, the third-party payment setup is done batch by batch.
Processing time and loss of the first month of assistance
The date of consideration for a housing assistance request starts from the submission of the complete application, not from the move-in date. A tenant who moves in September but whose certificate only reaches the CAF in November loses coverage for the first months.
Submitting the certificate in the days following the signing of the lease remains the only way to limit this loss. Online submission shortens this delay compared to postal mail.
- The tenant can check the progress of their application from their “My Account” space on caf.fr or via the mobile app.
- Accepted attachments are in jpeg, pdf, jpg, png, or gif format, with a total weight limit.
- Only one type of document per submission: the rent certificate must be sent separately from pay slips or other supporting documents.
The landlord who delays filling out the certificate exposes their tenant to a difficult-to-recover delay in rights. No legal provision provides for a direct sanction against a landlord who refuses to complete the document, but this refusal can be reported to the CAF and constitutes a breach of rental obligations.
The key point to remember: the rent certificate is not just an administrative form to fill out when one thinks of it. It is the triggering document for the entire chain of housing assistance payments, and each day of delay translates into one month less coverage for the tenant.