FRANCE | Accommodation | General information

General (student) housing situation

In France, most students live with their parents or in Halls of Residence. Several accommodation options can be considered for foreign students: living on your own, flat share, living with a French family or in a students’ hostel.

The cost of accommodation can be quite high especially in the city. You need to find out the prices to prepare your budget. The housing market situation differs from city to city, but in general there are not many apartments available for rent. Taking all the administrative requirements into account, it would however be better to rent a room in a household or from an individual, which provides a family atmosphere and enables you to get a better understanding of the French way of life. In addition, the cost of such housing is generally cheaper. In a flat share, there can be furnished or unfurnished rooms. There, you will have to adjust to the habits of the other inhabitants. Such an experience can be enriching and can broaden your horizon. The costs for one room in the city can vary from 300 to 600€/month with additional 150 to 200€/month for heating, hot water and electricity.

Finding accommodation 

First, ask the company with which you will be training to help you. Especially if they use to have trainees, they will be prepared to help you. There might be trainees leaving when you arrive so that you can take over a room. Sometimes, they can send you a list of addresses to help you search for accommodation. This list may contain addresses of university institutions, private contacts or phone numbers of real estate agencies. Also, try to get in contact with other trainees that were or are at the company to share their experience of how to find accommodation.
Moreover, you can try the following possibilities in advance:

  1. University housing offices and student associations
  2. Housing advertisement on the internet
  3. Real estate agencies or search engines on the internet

Search on the spot

After arriving in France, you can stay in temporary accommodation and continue your search on the spot. You find advertisements on available housing on display boards in universities, on classifieds boards in supermarkets and in the local press or in specialised magazines.

Another option is the local council department looking after housing. This section can be found within the local council department at the town hall and can assist you establish contact with private individuals who rent a room in their apartment or house (f.ex. after their children have left). Depending on your request, the division can also provide you with contact details of student hostels or residence halls meant for youth between 16 to 25 years of age.

The department of students CROUS maintains a large number of rooms and studios that are only meant for students enrolled at a French university. It can however provide you with some free information and might give you lists of available accommodation even if you are not a French student. If you have a university network in your own country, try to contact the French partner institutions in advance or the student associations to ask for addresses of residential accommodation that do not require your enrolment in a French university.

Real estate agencies

You can search for rental offers on their internet sites or contact them directly to get a list of available accommodation. The agencies take payment for their services called "courtage" (brokerage) and they organise the visits and negotiate the lease agreements.

Last Modification: 30.07.2024 - Contact Person: Webmaster