Finding student or erasmus accomodation in Paris is difficult but doesn't have to be impossible

Finding a place to live in Paris is notoriously difficult but not impossible. My experiences have been varied, and I will go through both my own experiences as well as some useful advice on how to help you get on your way to having a roof over your head!

Housing benefit in France

I was very happy to hear when I arrived in France that most students including foreign students in France are able to claim a housing benefit to help pay for rent (Awesome!).
Allocation Sociale au Logement – ASL or Allocation Personnalisée au Logement - APL from the CAF (Caisse d’Allocation Familiale) which is conditional on the student’s financial situation. The amounts you get vary but in Paris you can expect anything from €80-€150/m.

Personally I got around ~€100 and it did take them around 2-3 months to actually start paying the money into my French bank account (you can also get the to pay the money direct to your landlord/foyer)

In order to apply, you must fulfil certain (easy) conditions including :

-You must rent accommodation comprising of at least 9m² of living space per person or 16m² for two people
-You must pay the rent yourself and the lease must be in your name and not in your parent’s name
-You must not be in receipt of any other housing benefit
-You must have a valid French residence permit (except for EU students who only need their ID card)
-For the APL, you must rent an “officially agreed apartment”. Check for the APL sign on the ad or with the owner. ALS however is the most common option that Students take as it's often way less hassle

You can find out further information on housing subsidies on the website of CAF : http://www.caf.fr Quickly fill in the forms after moving in since it will take the CAF some time to process your request and you may wait up to 2 months for the subsidy to be transferred onto your account.  They're pretty easy to deal with but as always in France lots of forms..

It is also a little known fact that couples MF, MM or FF recieve more than two individuals.

 

You won't find anything like this for a low budget in Paris!

 

Erasmus/Student Accomodation in Paris

Foyers; These are awesome publically run halls of residents for students. They are very good value and typically for a single room cost between €350/m and €450/m (ensuite). The best operator of foyers is the CLJT who have 11 in Paris all reasonable and all which comply with the rules for ALS. While there are a few house rules in these places most are broken/bent alot of the time and a little common sense will keep you out of trouble. There are also foyers operated by Nuns which are female only which have slightly stricter rules for those who like that sort of thing.

I had many friends who stayed in foyers during their 6-12 month stay in Paris and they really enjoyed them although I personally went for an appartment as I like having lots of house partys!

CLJT Website , French Foyer Association

 

Flats/Houses; French landlords are notoriously tight and typically cowboy so always be careful with who you rent from. I've had quite a few close calls and it's also important never to send rent/deposits in advance having not seen/been in a property and if in doubt walk away before handing over money. I know of someone who sent a deposit by post and lost it all but that's for anouther day. Costs of houses and flats vary from €500-€700 for 1 bedroom to €800+ for 2 or more rooms and the area (quartier) also has big influence.

French Landlords will demand a background history well beyond what you would expect. It is usual for them to want: A parental garantor, Copies of 3 months of your and your garantors bank statements, copies of passports of you and your gaurantor. In addition they may ask for a bank garantee for the rent and this is often the best way to secure an appartment. Typically they will collect a number of these over one or two days and call back the people who they think are most likely to pay their rent on time (I.e. people with jobs not Erasmus students..). 

 

One of the best ways to get flats in Paris:

1. Wake up on Thursday (the day PAP gets released) as early as possible (6AM is ideal), go to newsagent and get Particulier Particulier (www.pap.fr)
2. Highlight and book appointments with all appartments in your price braket and area of choice
3. From 7.30-9am book appointments to see the flats (don't worry about the earliness they will be expecting it)
4. Visit flats with copies of your documentation
5. When you find a flat that you really like don't settle for the landlords word that they'll call you back 99 times out of a 100 they won't. Secure the place with a cheque deposit and do whatever bargining you need to there and then.
6. Move in :)

Other venues:

Flatmate Finder: http://www.appartager.com/
Agencies: Sometimes good but will generally charge 1 months rent for the privilege

 

Housing Contracts

This is very very very important as you don't want to lose your deposit so knowing your stuff here will keep you safe. Whenever you go for a flat/house in france you need to sign a 12 month contract. Do NOT try and negotiate this as the landlord will send you packing, you can get out of this very easily. There are two parts of French law that allow this:

1. A little known (by foreign students) piece of legislation 'Loi du 18 Janvier - L632-1 du CCH' which means that if you give 3 months notice you may cancel your contract. There is some information here and here which I will translate at a later date.

2. Under French law 'Force Majeur' which relates to life changing events can be used to end contracts and is commonly used. A case of 'Force Majeur' relates to a change which you cannot control, this includes having to leave the country for a new job, family reasons or educational reasons.

It is very difficult for landlords to appeal against these and they will always give you your deposit back. I will post the details of a very good French legal advisor who helps students for a very reasonable fee with these matters later (ask me if you need it before then).

From my personal experience I moved 3 times over 12 months using the above as ammunition for my french landlords and they were generally happy.  If in doubt get a french friend to come along as the guys rarely speak french.

 

Deposits & Inventory of Flat

When you take a property in France they do a very very very in depth inventory of the property, typically taking note of every scratch, dent and item of furniture, cutlery that's there. It's very important that you make sure that it's accurate when you get in there so that you get your deposit back when you leave. Also when you come to leave your flat, summon your landlord/agency for this and make sure that you get a cheque off them on the spot as it is unlikely that you will get anouther chance.  I personally failed to get a cheque off my landlord as did my girlfriend and it resulted in having to make many many many phonecalls to get the landlord to send the cheque over.

Everyone who comes back from France has a story about their accomodation hopefully this story of fun and games will help you avoid having a bad one!