Homesharing and housekeeping help: dividing the roles clearly

Same goal, two separate answers

Families often discover homesharing while looking for someone to help a parent who struggles to keep the house in order. Seeing a free cleaner in the arrangement is tempting. It is the most common misunderstanding, and one of the main reasons matches break down.

Separating the two roles from the outset protects everyone. The older person gets reliable cleaning from someone paid to provide it, the housemate keeps time for studies or work, and the relationship stays one of goodwill rather than obligation.

French law describes solidarity cohabitation as lodging in exchange for presence and minor services, with no employer relationship. Once regular chores come with set hours and instructions, the arrangement drifts into work that must be declared and paid like any other job.

Favours a housemate gives naturally

Putting the bins out, changing a light bulb, carrying a parcel upstairs, helping move a small piece of furniture or watering plants during a trip: these one-off favours fit easily into shared life, exactly as they would between flatmates of any age.

Tasks that stay with professionals

A full weekly clean, ironing, window washing, help getting up, dressing or bathing, and cooking every day all require time, regularity and sometimes training. They belong to a home help, a domiciliary care agency or a nursing service, never to the homesharer.

Which households combine both?

The combination works best for an older person who manages most things, receives two or three hours of home help a week and mainly wants company in the evenings. The housemate and the home help rarely meet, and each knows their role.

How UK schemes frame the exchange

UK homeshare programmes usually ask homesharers for around ten hours of practical help a week in return for accommodation, and explicitly exclude personal care. A written agreement lists the tasks, which makes it easier to spot when needs have outgrown the arrangement.

Finding home help in France

Three models exist: an agency that employs the worker, an agency that handles paperwork while the household remains employer, or direct employment declared through the CESU universal service voucher. Local information points for older people give free guidance on which model fits.

Agencies charge an hourly rate that covers the worker's wages, travel and supervision, while direct employment is usually cheaper but leaves the household responsible for contracts, holidays and replacement during sick leave. Asking for a written quote before starting avoids surprises later on.

The APA allowance for care at home

The personalised autonomy allowance is open to people aged 60 or over assessed in dependency groups GIR 1 to 4 by a team from the département council. It funds a care plan, with a personal contribution that rises with the beneficiary's income.

Support for more independent seniors

People in GIR 5 or 6 are not entitled to APA but can ask their pension fund for occasional domestic help or support after a hospital stay. Départements also provide means-tested home help through social assistance for those on low incomes.

The French tax credit in 2026

Home help spending earns a 50 % tax credit on up to 12,000 euros a year, increased by 1,500 euros per household member over 65, with an overall ceiling of 15,000 euros, or 20,000 euros for someone holding an invalidity card.

With the immediate advance scheme run by Urssaf, the credit is deducted at the moment of payment, so the household pays only half the cost upfront. Any amount already covered by APA is removed from the base used to calculate the credit.

Seven steps to organise support

1. List the real needs: cleaning, laundry, meals, personal care, shopping.
2. Separate occasional favours from tasks that need regularity.
3. Contact the local information point or département to check entitlements.
4. Apply, if relevant, for APA or for pension fund support.
5. Choose an agency or declared direct employment.
6. Write down the housemate's favours with the homeshare organisation.
7. Introduce the housemate and the home help so both understand their roles.

Warning signs of role drift

• A weekly cleaning routine gradually imposed on the housemate.
• Paying the young person cash for undeclared cleaning hours.
• Cutting home help hours because a student now lives in.
• Asking an untrained housemate to help with washing or dressing.
• Leaving out who cleans the housemate's own room in the agreement.

Common questions

The questions below sum up the doubts raised by adult children of older people and by students hesitating to commit. For particular circumstances, the département council or the pension fund will give an answer tailored to the individual file.

Can the housemate be paid to clean?

Yes, but this is then a job separate from the homeshare, to be declared through CESU and eligible for the tax credit. Care is needed so that this work never becomes an unspoken condition of keeping the room.

Does living with a housemate reduce APA?

The assessment looks at the person's independence and surroundings. Mentioning the homeshare honestly is wise, while making clear that the housemate provides no personal care and therefore does not replace any of the home help hours.

Who cleans the shared areas?

Kitchen, hallway and living room are shared as in any flatshare: everyone tidies after themselves and a regular clean can rotate. A deep clean remains the householder's responsibility, who can hand it to a professional.

Do employers over 70 pay social charges?

In France, a private employer aged 70 or over is exempt from employer social security contributions when directly employing a home help. Urssaf's CESU service explains the conditions that apply in each situation, including how the exemption combines with the tax credit.