Housing
Finding accommodation in Paris
There’s no doubt about it, finding accommodation is a top priority for any student moving to the French capital. Our Student Experience team has carefully selected preferred partners to help you find accommodation quickly and securely.
Offers & Partners
Studapart
Type of accomodation: Bed and breakfast, shared apartment, studio, T1, T2.
Length of stay: From 1 month to 24 months.
Rates: according to accommodation.
Services: Studapart guarantee, Studapart home insurance and a multilingual support team.
Website: https: //psb.studapart.com.
Contact: Lara Kurdoglu -lara.kurdoglu@studapart.com.
Additional information: Accommodation offers from
private landlords and student residences.
ECLA
Type of accommodation: All-inclusive furnished accommodation: studio, bedroom, private room in shared apartments, etc…
Length of stay: At least one month (nightly rates available).
Location:
- ECLA Noisy-le-Grand: 5 rue du Centre, 93160 Noisy-le-Grand.
- ECLA Villejuif: 20 rue Marcel Paul, 94800 Villejuif, France
Rates: From 765 euros, all charges included (water, heating, electricity, broadband wifi) with free access to all services.
Services:
Fitness room, sauna, cinema rooms, workspace, lounge area, games rooms (table soccer, billiards, ping-pong, arcades), events.
Website: https: //ecla.com
Contact: 09 70 84 70 02 – contact@ecla.com.
Additional information: ECLA mobile application, security cameras, international support, equipment loans and parcel reception.
Spotahome
Type of accommodation: Apartments, studios, rooms in a shared apartment, student residences.
Length of stay: 30 days minimum.
Location: Paris and 99 other European cities.
Rates: From €400, subject to availability.
Services :
- 100% online: you save time, energy and money.
- Personalized booking assistance: Paris School of Business students can contact spotahome directly at partners@spotahome.com with details of their accommodation requirements.
- Verified by spotahome: real photos and videos of each property guaranteed.
- Fraud protection: money is transferred to the owner 24 hours after move-in.
Website: https: //www.spotahome.com
Contact: partners@spotahome.com.
Additional information: Pet-friendly accommodation options subject to availability, 30% discount on service with code PSB30.
Housing anywhere
Type of accommodation: Shared rooms, private rooms, studios and apartments.
Length of stay: From 1 month to over a year.
Location: Paris and many European cities.
Rates: From €400, depending on type of accommodation.
Services:
Rent from your phone or computer without having to go anywhere, talk directly to the owner and pay using a secure payment method.
Website: https: //housinganywhere.com/Paris–France/PSB/sign-up
Contact: vip@housinganywhere.com.
Additional information
HousingAnywhere lets you securely book your new room, offered by verified private landlords and outgoing students. To benefit from a 25% discount on booking fees, a VIP profile as a Paris School of Business student and priority access to all ads, register here: https: //housinganywhere.com/Paris–France/PSB/sign-upNB
You need to pay the full price, then send an e-mail to support@housinganywhere.com. Find out more about finding a new home on the “How it works” page or by sending an e-mail to vip@housinganywhere.com.
Livinfrance
Type of accommodation: Shared and individual.
Length of stay: 3 months or more.
Location: Paris, Créteil, Ivry-sur-seine.
Rates: From €430 / month.
Services: Online booking, 48-hour validation, no guarantor required.
Website: https: //livin-france.com/psb/login
Contact: hello@livin-france.com.
Additional information:
LivinFrance will guide you through all the formalities: accommodation, VISA, opening a bank account, insurance… They will provide you with support tailored to your needs throughout the reception process.
Safehouse Paris
Type of accommodation: Private apartments (all sizes, from studios to six-bedroom apartments), shared apartments and rooms.
Length of stay: 1 month minimum.
Location: Paris Intramuros, inner and outer suburbs (thousands of apartments available).
Prices: From €450 for a shared apartment and €520 for a private studio.
Services
Rental assistance from A to Z, provision of housing insurance (mandatory for renting accommodation in France), professional rental guarantee (very important for international students), access to off-market offers and discounts thanks to our partnership with Paris School of Business.
Website: https: //www.safehouse.fr
Further information
Special services for students who need official rental documents for their visa application, help in securing their visa application (accommodation section), services known and recognized by many French consulates abroad.
Useful links
Here are a few useful sites to help you in your search for accommodation: from studios to shared apartments, you’re sure to find something to suit your needs!
Locservice: https://www.locservice.fr/logement-etudiant.html
Le Bon Coin: https://www.leboncoin.fr
Share : http://www.appartager.com
Adèle: https://www.adele.org/
The roommate card : https://www.lacartedescolocs.fr
PAP : https://www.pap.fr
Seloger: https://www.seloger.com
Cohabilis : https://www.cohabilis.org
The different types of housing in Paris
University residences
Benefits
- Moderate rent: public residences have the lowest rates on the market (from €400 for a room to €600 for a studio).
Disadvantages
- With prices so low, demand is very high and very few rooms are available.
- The studios/rooms are not equipped with bed linen or kitchen utensils.
- It’s important to apply for university residence accommodation as early as possible.
- You have to be prepared to live in a community and respect your neighbors (no noise after 10 p.m., etc.).
- most studios are in fact single rooms with a minimum of comfort and surface area (9 m²), and you’ll probably have to share the kitchen.
Private student residences
Benefits
- This is an interesting option if you want to find your accommodation quickly. Some residences even offer an online booking service.
- Housing in private residences is eligible for CAF assistance.
- You’ll have your own studio.
- A residence manager is on hand to answer any questions you may have.
Disadvantages
- Additional services such as access to the laundry room, kitchen kit or household linen may be charged extra.
Shared apartment
Meeting new people is undoubtedly one of the highlights of living with a flatmate.
Benefits
- Rent will be cheaper, as will utilities (rent is around €550 to €750 per person, including utilities).
- You won’t be alone: forget the Sunday blues, your roommates will be there to cheer you up.
- You’ll meet other students who will introduce you to life in Paris.
- You’ll be able to live in a larger apartment.
Disadvantages
- Some rooms may be undeclared sublets, in which case you won’t be entitled to the CAF subsidy.
- Sharing a flat also means making concessions and respecting rules.
- Students have a reputation for being party animals, and landlords can be reluctant to rent to them.
Studios
Larger than a maid’s room, a studio apartment gives you the opportunity
to have your own apartment in Paris!
Rents range from €700 to over €1,000, depending on the property’s location.
Benefits
- Individual housing.
- Individual kitchen and bathroom in the studio.
Disadvantages
- The surface area remains quite small.
- You may feel isolated if you’re not used to living alone.
If you wish to benefit from CAF assistance, make sure that the landlord has registered the studio as an apartment.
If renting a studio doesn’t suit you, why not try sharing a flat or living in a student residence?
Maid’s rooms
Living in a “chambre de bonne” may sound “so Parisian”… but in reality, it may not be the most enviable option for accommodation in Paris. Located in historic buildings, “chambres de bonne” are single rooms where maids working for wealthy families used to live.
Benefits
- On the top floor, with a beautiful view of Paris.
- Single-family homes often located in historic buildings in upscale neighborhoods.
- Moderate rent (from €550 to €600 depending on location).
Disadvantages
- A very small surface area (the smallest available on the market).
- In most cases, there is no elevator, as the rooms are located in older buildings.
- The possible presence of a shared bathroom and toilet, and very basic kitchen facilities.
Intergenerational housing
Benefits
- A wonderful human experience and an opportunity to meet “real” Parisians.
- Low or free rent.
- A company through good times and bad.
Disadvantages
- You’ll have to respect your host’s rules, and you may not be able to invite other people to visit you.
- It’s a commitment; the person you’ll be living with will be counting on you.
You’ll have to go through a recruitment procedure to be selected.
Apartment-hotel
Benefits
- You can stay for a short or long time.
- Aparthotels generally offer high standards of security and surveillance.
- The aparthotels offer a wide range of services (fitness area, cleaning service, laundry service, free breakfast…).
- You can stay in a private studio (16 to 30 m²).
Disadvantages
- You’ll have to pay an application fee (the amount depends on the size of the apartment you’re staying in).
- Prices are higher than most other options.
Administrative procedures
CAF assistance
Let’s face it: living in Paris can be pretty expensive. Fortunately, as an international student, you can claim a housing allowance if you stay for at least one academic year. The APL (Aide Personnalisée au Logement) is granted by the Caisse d’Allocations Familiales (CAF), a public institution in charge of all family and social issues. It is better known as CAF assistance.
The amount to which you are entitled under the APL depends on a number of factors, including the city in which you live, your income, whether
you share your accommodation or not, and whether you work or not. You can run an online simulation to estimate the amount of the
housing allowance to which you are entitled here: http: //www.caf.fr/aides-et-services/lesservices-en-ligne/estimer-vos-droits.
01 If you share your home, each flatmate must apply individually for APL. The amount of the APL is calculated according to your financial resources
and the rent paid by each flatmate. If you have only one rent receipt rather than individual invoices, the total rent will be divided by the number of flatmates.
02 If you live in a student residence (including CROUS residences), you will need to ask the residence administration to complete the “Attestation de résidence en foyer” form and enclose it with your application.
03 If you rent private accommodation (maid’s room, studio), you’ll need to ask your landlord to fill in the “Attestation de loyer” form and enclose it with your application.
Home insurance
In France, home insurance is compulsory: it is the tenant’s responsibility – not the owner’s – to insure their home. The law requires every tenant to take out home insurance, whether the property is furnished or unfurnished.
The law applies to the vast majority of types of accommodation: maids’ rooms, studios, shared apartments (public or private)…
On the other hand, it is not compulsory for short-term accommodation (Airbnb and the like).
In the case of a shared tenancy, each tenant can take out his or her own home insurance, or decide to share a single policy covering all tenants. In all cases, it is strongly recommended that all roommates choose the same insurance company, to limit disputes in the event of a claim.
In practice, your landlord or estate agent will ask you to provide proof of insurance when you sign your contract. Without it, the landlord will probably decide not to rent to you (or postpone signing the contract until you provide it, if you’re lucky). Don’t forget that you must take out home insurance as soon as you receive the certificate from the landlord.
If you need home insurance, please contact our partner HeyMe and specify that you are a student at Paris School of Business. https://heyme.care/en/foreign-student.
Water, electricity and Internet
If you opt for a maid’s room, studio apartment, shared flat or even a private student residence, you’ll need to take out subscriptions with electricity and internet providers when you move in. On the other hand, in public student residences (CROUS), electricity is included in the charges.
Water: in the vast majority of cases, this is included in the charges, so you don’t need to take any formalities.
City gas: some apartments may be equipped with gas heaters or gas stoves. In this case, you’ll need to take out a subscription with a local gas company. The largest companies in France are Engie and Total Direct Energie.
Electricity: as soon as you move in, contact an electricity supplier to open a subscription. To do this, you’ll need the name of the previous tenant, so be sure to ask your landlord to provide you with all the necessary information when you sign the contract. The largest company in France is EDF for electricity.
Internet: Internet access is rarely included in the rent (except for some furnished studios), and there’s a good chance you’ll have to take out an Internet subscription when you move in. There are a large number of suppliers and options. Don’t hesitate to compare offers to find the best one: keep an eye out for special offers, which are very common at the start of the school year. The most popular providers are Orange, Bouygues Telecom and SFR. They also have alternative companies like Sosh (Orange), B&YOU (Bouygues Telecom) or RED (SFR), which offer cheaper deals for Internet and 4G/5G data.
