Living side by side rather than under one roof
Classic homesharing places a young person in a spare bedroom of an older person’s home. Many older adults, however, want their own front door, kitchen and routine. Shared residences offer a middle path: a private flat, chosen neighbours and regular communal moments.
Readers familiar with cohousing in Denmark, the Netherlands or the United States will recognise the idea. In France the landscape is fragmented, with social landlords, charities, insurers and local councils each using slightly different labels for comparable projects.
Social landlords’ intergenerational residences
A typical scheme sets aside adapted flats for older tenants within a building that also houses families or students. A common room and often a paid coordinator organise activities, small mutual services and informal checks that nobody is left isolated for days.
ICF Habitat, the housing company linked to the French railway group SNCF, presented such programmes as early as 2013. The charity Habitat et Humanisme also runs intergenerational houses, one of which hosted a visit by the minister responsible for older people in 2020.
Getting a flat in one
Where the building belongs to the social housing stock, applicants go through the standard social housing application with income ceilings. Many residences add a signed commitment: joining shared activities, offering small services to neighbours and respecting the rules of the common room.
What it costs residents
Rent follows social or intermediate housing scales, depending on how the development was financed. Personal housing benefit from the CAF still applies. Community coordination is usually paid by the landlord, a local authority or a partner charity rather than charged on top of rent.
Inclusive housing and the shared-living allowance
France created a legal category called habitat inclusif in 2018. It targets older and disabled people who choose to live together around a shared social project while remaining ordinary tenants or owners, not residents of a care institution.
There is no daily fee and no admissions panel. Residents organise community life with a project holder, which may be a charity, landlord or municipality, responsible for running joint activities and linking residents with outside care services.
What the allowance pays for
The shared-living allowance, known as AVP, funds coordination of the common project: activities, facilitation and conflict prevention. It is granted per resident but paid directly to the project holder once it signs an agreement with the département, which co-funds it with the national autonomy fund, CNSA.
Amounts and selection
The national framework set in 2021 allows an AVP modulated by the intensity of the project, capped at 10,000 euros per resident per year. Each département then selects projects through calls for applications and decides the amount for each one.
Who can move into inclusive housing?
Independent older people, those with mild loss of autonomy and disabled adults are eligible without a formal administrative referral. Some projects also welcome students or young workers, which turns inclusive housing into an explicitly intergenerational setting.
Béguinages and autonomy residences
The word béguinage comes from the medieval beguine communities of Flanders, several of whose enclosures have been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1998. In France it now describes small clusters of single-storey homes for older people around a garden.
A béguinage has no legal definition: it may be social housing, private co-ownership or a charity project. Autonomy residences, which are regulated care-sector establishments, may by contrast admit a limited share of residents under thirty to create a mixed community.
Comparing the formats
The table sets five ways of living near other generations against their status, main residents and support.
| Format | Status | Main residents | Support |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homesharing in a senior’s home | Contract between two individuals | Host 60+, guest under 30 | Optional charity |
| Intergenerational residence | Social or intermediate rental | Older people, families, students | Coordinator |
| Inclusive housing | Ordinary housing with shared project | Older and disabled people | Project holder funded by AVP |
| Béguinage | Varies, no specific law | Independent older people | Often a contact person |
| Autonomy residence | Care-sector establishment | Older people, some young | Staff and basic services |
Which format suits whom?
Intergenerational residences suit older people on modest incomes who want lively neighbours. Inclusive housing fits those looking for a more structured shared project, often alongside home help. Béguinages appeal to people attached to a small house with a garden.
Homesharing, governed in France since 2018 by a dedicated contract between a host aged 60 or more and a guest under 30, remains the only option that lets someone stay in their own home without moving.
Costly mistakes
Families exploring these options for a parent often report the same disappointments.
- Assuming a béguinage provides care, when no medical support is guaranteed.
- Choosing a residence labelled intergenerational that has no real coordination.
- Overlooking service charges added to rent in some private developments.
- Waiting until autonomy is badly reduced, which these homes rarely handle well.
- Underestimating waiting lists in the social housing sector.
Steps to find a place
Procedures differ by format, but a common path applies in most French towns.
- Assess autonomy, budget and the wish for company honestly.
- Ask the municipal social action centre or local information point for older people.
- Check which inclusive housing projects the département has approved.
- File or update a social housing application where relevant.
- Visit the residence and meet the coordinator and current residents.
- Read the charter, house rules and any breakdown of service charges.
Frequently asked questions
The answers below address the questions most often raised by families and future residents.
Is inclusive housing only for disabled people?
No. The scheme covers both disabled and older people. Some projects mix the two groups, others focus on older residents only. Whether students can join depends on the local project and on the agreement signed with the département concerned.
Can residents keep their individual benefits?
Yes. Legally they still live at home, so they keep personal entitlements such as the French personalised autonomy allowance and housing benefit. Some residents pool part of their home-help hours to organise a more regular shared presence in the building.
Do intergenerational residences accept couples?
Most offer two-room flats suitable for older couples, allocated under ordinary social housing rules. Younger households admitted to the building agree in return to take part in shared life, which is what genuinely distinguishes these residences from standard blocks.
Is funding available to create such a project?
Local authorities and foundations back new intergenerational schemes through calls for projects. The French public platform Aides-territoires lists several of these programmes, along with département funding for the shared social project of inclusive housing.
Useful organisations and resources
- Habitat et Humanisme – intergenerational houses — French charity running intergenerational houses and supported housing for older people and low-income households.
- Cohabilis – guide to autonomy residences — Guide from France’s homesharing network on welcoming young residents inside autonomy residences for older people.
- AGE Platform Europe – intergenerational housing initiatives — European network of older people’s organisations presenting housing schemes that bring students and older residents together.
Official and legal references
- French government portal for older people – inclusive housing — Official page explaining inclusive housing in France, who it is for and how the shared social project works.
- Mon parcours handicap – what is inclusive housing? — Public information page detailing how inclusive housing operates and the role of the project holder.
- Aides-territoires – funding the shared social project — State platform entry describing public funding for coordination in inclusive housing projects.