When thinking about accessing higher education abroad, candidates often get discouraged by extremely high tuition fees.
Not every student is able to pay high tuition fees but for EU, EEA or Swiss citizens there are some good news: in France, the government covers most of the tuition costs . Although the real yearly costs of studying in France are similar to other countries (estimated at approximately 10.000 euros/ student), after government intervention, European students should expect paying as low as 170 euros per year (for a bachelor) or 243 euros (for a year of studying at master level). This is valid for most universities, with the exception of the "big universities" - which don't count as public institutions.
On top of low tuition fees, the French government is particularly supportive towards students, offering them access to student aids that can cover their accommodation or education-related expenses. 🌎💸📒📕📚
This sounds like a dream for any student 👩🎓 👨🎓 who is eager to graduate from a reputable institution, at the lowest possible cost.
However, there is one detail worth mentioning : in France, renting a place to live proves to be more challenging than most of us would expect.
Ten years after discovering France as a student, I was given again the opportunity to return with a full time undetermined contract. Yay 😁 ! Would this facilitate in any way the renting process ? It is still to be discovered 😌…
But first, let's go back in time and see what are the requirements to rent a flat in France, as a student.
Although every expat student needs a place to live, renting in France (especially outside the university campus), proves to be a really bureaucratic and lengthy process...
This is because the French law is ultra-protective of tenants so real-estate agents and home owners are really scrutinizing each and every candidate in order to avoid problems later on. At the end is their right to make sure their assets are well taken care of and the tenants will keep paying the rent on time, avoiding any negative surprises.
When applying to rent a flat, potential tenants are expected to prove through work contracts that their monthly net income equals at least 3 times the monthly rent.
Moreover, tenants should designate a surety (preferably a French resident), who is able to cover their debts in the event of a payment default. As expats most probably don't know any French resident willing to act as surety, agencies or flat owners might accept surety from banks 🏦 or employers. In this case, students are supposed to block the equivalent of 6-30 months of rent in a separate bank account, that can be used to recover the rents in case of a payment default. Another option is to sign a determined renting contract and pay all the rent upfront, in order to remove any risks for the owners. As a student, without any surety, I had to pay upfront for one entire year of rent.
10 years after, after signing a job offer with a French airline, eager to return and enjoy again the beauty and diversity of this wonderful country, I started looking for a house to rent.
Is my new professional situation going to expose me to a trouble - free procedure this time? Let's see how it went... 🧐
My job offer was really appealing - so I went ahead and contacted some agencies and private owners to express my interest in renting a house 🏡, close to my workplace. First thing to mention, most of them don't even answer to e-mails. I believe it is more productive to contact them by phone or go personally to the agencies.
Another fun thing about the French capital, Paris is that the market is over-saturated so apartments/houses 🏘 are really expensive ! For a tiny studio of a bit more than 20 m2, prices start from 800-900 euros and for a T2 (equivalent to one bedroom apartment) it was well over 1.300-1.500 euros, in function of the area. Most of the times, prices are very high for tiny spaces in the middle of a crowded city area - not suitable for me, a nature lover who needs lots of personal space. So I decided to let Paris go and adopted a strategy that many French citizens employ - working in Paris and living outside the busy capital, at the countryside.
I started looking for houses within a 2 hours by car radius from Paris. This changed completely the type of results I was getting 🧐- nice houses with lots of outdoor space at the price of a studio in Paris. Simply amazing ! As I expect flying only 3 times a month, commuting was not a problem so I went ahead and contacted some agencies. Still radio silence...finally, one of them replied.
This looked like a promising scenario until I had to present my professional situation to the agent in order to make sure I qualify to rent. Again, a complete set of documents was required. In order to secure a house visit I presented them the following documents:
Working contract (stipulating the net salary, type of contract and length of the probation period, if any)
Last pay slips
Job proposal
Proof of last 3 rents payment
ID/ passport
Tax statement
I also had to fill in 2-3 additional documents to complete my candidate file. Luckily, everything looked in order and I finally got an appointment for a house visit.
This whole process seemed a bit complicated, but it was definitely more accessible than when I was a 👩🎓 student. Hopefully, the result of my visit will be positive and I will finally rent a place in France - literally a well -deserved victory ✌🏻!
What do you think about the whole process 💭? How is it comparing to your own country?
Do you find the process of renting a home more complicated in France than in your own country?
0%Yes ! 🙃
0%It is very similar… 😎
0%No 🤓
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