A tenant who has been housed for more than six months in an emergency structure submits a request for social housing. No suitable response is received. The DALO system exists specifically for this type of situation: it allows for the recognition of the right to decent housing when traditional procedures have yielded no results.
The right to housing that can be enforced, established by the law of March 5, 2007, designates the State as the guarantor of this right. In practical terms, a requester can appeal to a departmental mediation commission for their request to be recognized as a priority. If the commission acknowledges this, the prefect must propose suitable housing within six months.
DALO Relocation Timelines: What Recent European Case Law Reveals
Most guides on DALO detail the eligibility criteria and the application procedure. Few address the question that truly concerns applicants: how long must one wait after a favorable decision?
The ruling in Eisenauer and others v. France, delivered by the European Court of Human Rights on May 12, 2026, provides a stark insight. Several individuals recognized as DALO priorities in the Paris region (Paris, Sarcelles, Vitry-sur-Seine) waited between nearly three years and up to eight years before being effectively relocated. The ECtHR characterized a violation related to execution delays, not just access conditions.
For an applicant, this decision changes the game. It provides an additional legal argument that can be mobilized before the administrative court if the State delays in fulfilling its own obligation to provide housing. In Île-de-France, understanding the conditions for DALO housing allocation is no longer sufficient: one must also anticipate litigation in case of non-relocation.
DALO Recourse before the Mediation Commission: Criteria and Recognized Situations
Have you been living in unsanitary housing for months without a response from your landlord? Are you threatened with eviction without a relocation solution? These are exactly the situations that open the right to DALO recourse.
Before submitting a file, three basic conditions must be met simultaneously:
- Reside in France legally (French nationality or a valid residence permit, without any seniority condition for the permit)
- Be unable to access decent and independent housing by one’s own means, or to maintain it
- Meet the income ceilings required for the allocation of social housing
Once these three conditions are fulfilled, the applicant must also find themselves in at least one of the following situations:
- Being homeless
- Having submitted a social housing request for an abnormally long time (this time varies by department) without a suitable proposal
- Being threatened with eviction without relocation
- Being housed in a shelter or a social-purpose hotel for more than six consecutive months
- Occupying housing that is unfit for habitation, unsanitary, or dangerous
- Occupying overcrowded or non-decent housing with at least one minor child or a dependent person with a disability
A often overlooked point: having already made at least one prior effort is required. This can be a request for social housing, a report to the municipal hygiene service, or a formal notice sent to the landlord for repairs.
DALO File and Referral to the Mediation Commission: Concrete Steps
The DALO recourse is an amicable recourse. It is submitted to the mediation commission (Comed) of the department where the desired housing is located. The specific Cerfa form is available at the prefecture or online.
The file must contain documents justifying the applicant’s situation: tax notices, proof of residence, accommodation or homelessness certificates, letters of social housing requests with their unique departmental number. Any document proving prior efforts strengthens the file.
The mediation commission has a period of three to six months (depending on the department) to make its decision. If it recognizes the priority and urgency of the request, it forwards the file to the prefect. The prefect must then designate the applicant to a social landlord for the allocation of suitable housing.
What to Do If No Proposal Arrives After a Favorable Decision?
This is where contentious recourse comes into play. The applicant can appeal to the administrative court if no suitable housing proposal is made within the specified timeframe. The judge can then order the State to relocate the applicant, under financial penalty.
However, the rulings of the Council of State in July 2026 have tightened the evidentiary requirements for obtaining compensation. In practical terms, it is no longer sufficient to demonstrate the absence of relocation: the applicant must also precisely document the harm suffered. In Île-de-France, the deadline for appealing to the administrative court after a favorable DALO decision is four months.
Difference Between DALO Housing and DAHO Accommodation
The system actually covers two distinct rights. DALO concerns access to permanent housing. DAHO (right to enforceable accommodation) targets individuals who need emergency accommodation or reception in an appropriate structure.
The confusion between the two is common. DAHO addresses the most precarious situations, when the person does not meet the conditions for autonomous housing or when urgency requires immediate accommodation. The procedure is similar (referral to Comed), but the response times and proposed solutions differ.
An applicant can submit a recourse under DALO and another under DAHO simultaneously if their situation justifies it. The two paths do not exclude each other.
DALO recourse remains a powerful lever for poorly housed individuals, but priority recognition does not guarantee rapid relocation. Documenting each step of the process, keeping all correspondence, and anticipating potential contentious recourse are the three reflexes that concretely protect the applicant throughout the procedure.