This overview article analyses social housing inequalities in France, on the eve of the health crisis. While recent surveys show that the living conditions of young people and low-income households have been more impacted by the lockdown compared to other social groups, the latest national housing survey produced by the French national institute for statistical and economic studies (ENL, 2013) provides more detailed information of the material context in which the health crisis broke out. In this article, the authors show how the different dimensions of housing (the type of dwelling, the urban context, the financing and housing tenure) combine with each other, prefiguring current residential vulnerabilities.