Housing

• Where to go when you first arrive in Paris

• How to find a room or an apartment

• French government financial housing assistance

Where to go when you first arrive in Paris

Depending on when you arrive in Paris, it might take you from 2 to 4 weeks to find accommodation.

If you have friends or relatives living in Paris, it may be best if you stay with them while you search for a permanent place to live. You can also stay at hotels and hostels. Prices start at € 30 at vary with standing and location.

Youth Hostels

Open to all young people, French youth hostels offer cheap and easy-to-find accommodation. However, besides the fairly strict timetables and lack of space in the rooms (particularly in Paris), hostels will often only let you stay for a very limited period. You may refer to the following youth hostel organization, a member of the International Youth Hostelling Network operating 170 youth hostels in France :

Fédération Unie des Auberges de Jeunesse
Office National Beaubourg
9, rue de Brantome
75003 Paris
Phone : + 33-(0)1 48 04 70 40 / + 33-(0)1 48 04 70 30
Fax : +33-(0)1 42 77 03 29
Metro : Chatelet Les Halles - Hotel de Ville - Rambuteau

Student Housing

If you wish to live in special student accommodation you have to reserve a place several months before. Prices run from 260 € per month.

Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris

The Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris has 37 residential halls and provides accommodation and services to 5,000 international students. It provides residence style accommodation, which varies from house to house. Some rooms do not have their own showers or toilets while others do.

Students usually stay in a room or apartment in their own national house if there is one. For example, priority would be given at the Maison des États-Unis (American House) to American nationals.

It is advisable to apply well in advance (if possible in April or May for the Fall semester, in September or October for the Spring).

Cité Universitaire Internationale de Paris
15 boulevard Jourdan
75014 Paris
Tel. : + 31 1 45 89 35 79
www.ciup.fr

Finding a room or an apartment

You may use a real estate agency or look for an apartment on your own in order to save the finder's fees. There are various resources for self-searching for accomodation, including the FUSAC magazine and Paris Free Voice which are available for free at most any American restaurant, university, church or store in Paris :

• The American Church in Paris

• The American Cathedral in Paris

• The American Library in Paris

• WH Smith

If you want to find a really cheap apartment, or even a room with family (sometimes in exchange for several hours of au-pair work) go to the American Church or the American Cathedral and check the advertisement board daily. New ads are posted every day around 2 o'clock.Try to contact the people very quickly, and arrange to meet them as soon as you can, as the places offered may be taken, in just a few hours.

Another magazine that might help you find housing (if you are quick enough to buy it, as it runs out phenomenally) is De Particulier à Particulier, which comes out every Thursday. For searches on De Particulier à Particulier in English, please click here.

If you opt to go through an agency, expect to pay a fee in addition to your monthly rent, as well as a housing deposit which would be about two months rent.

Expect to pay at least 500 € and up per month plus expenses (electricity, telephone), depending on the location and comfort of the apartment. Naturally, finding a roommate is an ideal way to reduce monthly rent.

French student organizations and educational centers that might help your search :

• CROUS (Le Centre Régional des Oeuvres Universitaires et Scolaires de Paris)

• EduFrance (a public organization founded by the French Ministries of Education and Foreign Affairs to provide help to international students during their stay in France)

• CISP (Centre International de Séjour de Paris) (Website in French)

• CIDJ (Centre d'Information et de Documentation pour la Jeunesse(Website in French)

French student residential centers :

• FIAP (Foyer International d'Accueil de Paris)

• Infologement Organization

Paris-based rental agencies that you could contact :

Several housing rental agencies (agences immobilières) have web pages of their available listings and some others have email addresses. The agences immobilières are a good source to use for finding either short-term or long-term housing in Paris, however they usually charge an agency fee, or a commission based on the rental sum for one year.

The agences immobilières not only can show you apartments according to your specifications, thus saving time, they may also provide various useful services such as setting up utilities, cable and telephone installations and housing insurance (required by French law).

LODGIS

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French Government Financial Housing Assistance

The government of France may provide financial assistance to students by refunding a proportion of their rent. The amount of the financial aid depends on the amount paid in rent and the student's monthly income.

• Go to the website of the Caisse d'Allocations Familiales and fill out the online registration form.

• Once you have completed the form, print it out and go to the Caisse d'Allocations Familiales (their address corresponds to the arrondissement in which you live).

• You also need to bring your most recent receipt.

• Your residence contract, which should be provided by your landlord (not every landlord is ready to sign a contract!).

• Your most recent France Telecom or EDF (electricity) bill, as they need proof of residence.

• A relevé d'identité bancaire, available from your bank (this is a card that identifies the name, address, and account number of your bank).

• Your carte de séjour.

• A certificate from AGSIRD that you will be a student during the school year.