The Social Housing Agency (Agence immobilière sociale – AIS) is a department of the Housing Access Foundation (Fondation pour l'accès au logement) which is a public utility institution funded by agreement between the Ministry for Family, Integration and the Greater Region (Ministère de la Famille, de l'Intégration et à la Grande Région) and the Ministry of Housing (ministère du Logement).

Considered a tool for combating social exclusion in housing, the AIS is designed as an intermediary between tenants and owners. It attempts to locate and provide access to adequate housing suited to household composition, to people with modest incomes who have had problems finding homes.

In order to be able to offer reasonably-priced housing, the AIS is offering owners financially enticing guarantees.