The survey is a national initiative. It does not comply with any European directive. It is carried out at the request of the Department of Housing, Urban Planning and Landscapes (DHUP) of the Ministry of Territorial Cohesion, which is providing the funding for the 2020 edition and will henceforth participate in the funding of future surveys on an annual basis, thus responding to recommendation no. 3 of the June 2014 report on the organisation of the statistical service in the field of housing, which called for consideration to be given to securing the conduct of the housing survey.

It meets the information needs of the national accounts, the academic community and the many players in the housing sector: public administrations (DHUP, DG Trésor, etc., agencies (Anah, Ademe, Ancols, etc.) and private players (professional federations, urban planning agencies, associations, etc.). It feeds into the public debate on housing issues. The Abbé Pierre Foundation uses it extensively for its annual report on poor housing.