Ministerial decree no. 2024-552 of October 10th, 2024, published in the Journal de Monaco on October 18th, 2024, repeals ministerial decree no. 2017-743 of October 11th, 2017 and amends the eligibility criteria for the National Housing Aid (NHA or ANL in French), which helps to reduce the financial burden of renting through the payment of an allowance and a loan.

The NHA is an allowance for Monegasque nationals with a regular income who live in Monaco, personally and effectively, in accommodation with no more than the normal number of rooms required by the household, regardless of the sector of accommodation, under a lease for residential use duly registered with the Department of Tax Services.

This decree makes five major changes to the conditions under which the NHA is awarded:

• entitlement to this allowance for ambassadors and civil servants appointed to diplomatic missions, who are deemed to be working in Monaco. Entitlement is conditional upon renting a flat corresponding to the normal needs of the household (Article 2);
  
   
• the possibility of requesting the allocation of a flat with an extra room for those who require the presence of a carer or family carer not previously residing in the recipient's home, on a continuous nightly basis, as well as for those whose state of health requires the installation of specific cumbersome equipment.
  
  
  Notwithstanding the principle that in the event of the departure of a member of the household who has justified an additional room in relation to the normal requirement, the allowance is reduced according to a weighting coefficient, the benefit of the additional room in relation to the normal requirement is maintained only for the spouse aged over 65 at the time of the death or placement in a retirement home of the person benefiting from the said measure (Article 5);
  
   
• the creation of a derogatory calculation of the NHA by opening up the possibility of withholding aid on the basis of 20% of income without application of the 60% ceiling (as a reminder, the NHA may not exceed 60% of the rent withheld, except for people aged over 65) for new tenancies in the unrestricted residential sector relating to flats of type studio, 1-bedroom flat and 1-bedroom flat that do not exceed the reference rent at the time of taking up the tenancy, and subject to certain restrictions (Article 7);
  
   
• the income from paid employment of children with student status up to the age of 25 living in the beneficiary's household, if it is less than the net annual sum of €18,000, is not taken into account when calculating the allowance (Article 8);
  
   
• a list of the conditions under which the State may pay the agency commission, including VAT, for lettings in the free residential sector:
  
  - only once per household, on an identical type of property (Article 15);
  
  - not to have returned a state-owned home corresponding to their normal needs, over the last twelve months, by terminating a lease or a ‘housing-capitalisation’ contract;
  
  - for applicants under the age of 21: they must have applied for state-owned accommodation - with an admissible application - at a call preceding this application, and must not have any outstanding penalties relating to a refusal of a state-owned flat allocated by a Commission.
  
  The aforementioned conditions do not apply to people who are divorcing or returning to the Principality as defined by the aforementioned Decree (people with student status).
  
  - Not have an income corresponding, at the very least, to bracket 9 (depending on the composition of the household) in accordance with the grid annexed to the ministerial decree in force relating to the conditions for the allocation of state-owned accommodation, i.e. :

-    Not to have issued a refusal within the framework of the Commission preceding this request. Where applicable, these costs may be reimbursed if the refusal in question was exempt from a penalty.

Lastly, the reference rents for receiving National Housing Aid have been updated with effect from 1 January 2025.

The Barnes I Valeri Agency team is willing to help you find the right home for your needs and, if necessary, to assist you with the administrative formalities involved in applying for housing aid.