Make a DAHO or DALO request

Proposed by Comité de la Démarche Accessible Updated on il y a 2 ans

DAHO and DALO requests are administrative steps required to demand accommodation (DAHO) or housing (DALO) when your first applications failed. It is a legal recourse, a procedure aimed at having a second chance to get a positive answer.

DAHO, or "Droit d'Accès à l'Hébergement Opposable" means "enforceable right to accomodation". The DAHO stands for "Droit d'accès à l'hébergement opposable". It allows people to be considered as having priority in their request for accommodation.

You are concerned by this procedure if you are in one of the following situations:

The allocation of your application for social housing is unusually long (the time may vary depending on the department. For example: a wait of more than 6 years for Paris is considered abnormal, while it is 2 years for Strasbourg ),
You sleep in the street: Homeless ("SDF": "sans domicile fixe", no permanent place to live in)
You are staying with an undeclared inhabitant,
You are accommodated in a social hotel,
You have been accommodated in a social structure (CADA, HUDA, CPH, CHRS, CHU…) for more than 6 months.
You have been in substandard housing for more than 10 years,
You live in a space where there are a lot of people, an overcrowded room (example: 5 people in a 25m2).

This right is different from DALO, "Droit d'Accès au Logement Opposable", which has to do with housing applications from people who meet certain conditions (particularly in terms of resources).

People accommodated for more than 6 months in a social structure are considered in an “emergency situation” and can apply for a DALO.

How to do it?

Here are the conditions for applying for a DAHO accommodation:

You have already applied for accommodation (young workers' hostel, migrant workers' hostel, maternal centre, etc.) but you have not received an offer suited to your situation
You sleep on the street, you are homeless
You call 115 (emergency shelter)
You are staying with an undeclared resident
You are accommodated in a social hotel

Here are the conditions for applying for a DALO accommodation:

You have already made one or more requests for social housing but you have not received a proposal adapted to your situation or no response within an "abnormally long" period (several years of waiting)
> See the list of abnormally long delays in Île-de-France .
> For other regions, see the last pages of this Cerfa form.
You do not have accommodation in your name (you live with a friend or in a shelter)
You cannot find habitable accommodation yourself (large enough, with water and electricity, without risk to health) and adapted to your situation (disability, children)
You have a valid residence permit
You have sufficient resources (salary, allowances, alimony, etc.) to pay moderate rent

To make a DAHO or DALO request, do not hesitate to ask for help from a social worker or an association.

To prepare a DAHO accommodation request file:

Complete the Cerfa form n°15037*01

Before you begin, we advise you to read this document to help you.

Add all the documents requested in the form (sentences starting with "Join...").

To prepare a DALO housing application file:

Complete the Cerfa form n°15036*01

Before you begin, we advise you to read this document to help you.

Add all the documents requested in the form (sentences starting with "Join...").

You must then send your file with all the documents by post to the Mediation Commission in your region . This Commission is a special office that will decide whether or not you have priority in order to have an accommodation or housing proposal.

It is advisable to:
- make a copy of the form before sending it, to keep a proof.
- send your file in a large envelope by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt.

You also have the option of submitting the form and supporting documents directly to the office of the secretariat of the Mediation Commission in your region.

You are in Île-de-France: Here are the addresses according to the department (at the bottom of the page, section "Where to file your DALO file", same addresses for DAHO).
You are in another region: ask or consult the website of your prefecture.

Please note: you can submit a DAHO or DALO file to only one Mediation Commission.

The Mediation Commission must inform you of its decision within 6 weeks to 3 months, depending on the region.

Remember to check your mail during this period: you will receive the acknowledgment of receipt from the Post Office, the acknowledgment of receipt from the Mediation Commission with a file number, a letter to request additional information if the file is not not complete and a letter with the decision of the Mediation Commission.

What happens next?

You are recognized as a priority: accommodation adapted to your criteria must be offered to you within 6 weeks to 3 months following your positive decision. If you reject the proposal, you will no longer be considered a priority.

If the wait for a place in accommodation is unusually long, you can appeal for non-compliance with the decision of the administrative court. A start date to the appeal is given in the decision.

It is also possible to appeal to the administrative court against the prefect's proposal.

You are not recognized as a priority: you will not have access to emergency accommodation. The commission must notify you of the reasons for its refusal to explain why it refused you.

It is necessary to check if on the decision it is indicated “priority to be accommodated” and not “hosted”. It happens that during a DALO request, the committee offers a place in accommodation rather than a home. In this case, an appeal must be made as soon as possible. Do not hesitate to get help from an association, a social worker, or a public writer.

You can lodge an "ex gratia appeal" to contest the refusal of your application. Send a signed letter with as many supporting documents as possible to the Commission, so that it can re-examine your case.
You can lodge a "contentious appeal" with the Administrative Court
- to contest the offer of accommodation or housing, if it is not suited to your situation
- for non-compliance with the decision if you have received a positive response but are waiting an abnormally long time for accommodation or housing. You have 4 months from the start date of the appeal indicated on the decision.

To lodge an appeal, it is not obligatory to hire a lawyer.
But it is always advisable to ask for help from a social worker or an association.
To have contact details for the Administrative Court in your department, click here .

The Administrative Court has 2 months to make a decision. The judge can force the Ministry responsible for housing to find you accommodation or housing if he finds that you have been designated a priority, but that you have not received a housing offer adapted to your needs.