Apartments & Roommates in Paris
A room in a Paris colocation (shared flat) costs about €776 a month on average, charges included (LocService, September 2026), while just outside the city Montreuil and Saint-Denis average €658 and €591. What surprises newcomers is the paperwork: before anyone hands you keys, landlords and flatmates expect a complete dossier (ID, proof of income or studies) and a garant (guarantor), and the free state-backed Visale guarantee is how many students and young people get one.
Paris at a glance
- Typical room rent: About €776/month average, charges included (LocService, Sept 2026)
- Deposit: Max 1 month unfurnished, 2 months furnished, excl. charges; none on a bail mobilité
- Key paperwork: A dossier plus a garant; Visale is a free guarantee for under-30s
- Where people search: La Carte des Colocs, Leboncoin, PAP, Facebook groups, CROUS for students
- Busiest season: June to September, before the university year starts
How to find a roommate in Paris
Most colocation rooms are offered by the current flatmates, who pick the next one. They usually invite a few people for a visit or a drink and ask about your schedule, how long you plan to stay and if your paperwork is ready. Whole flats for a group come from landlords and agencies, and they will check every flatmate's file.
Start four to six weeks before your move-in date. In June to September, before the rentrée (the start of the academic year), good rooms get many replies within hours, so have your dossier ready before you send the first message. You can also post your room or a roommate profile on Roomly, alongside the usual sites.
- La Carte des Colocs: a site just for colocations, with rooms and flatmate profiles.
- Leboncoin: the big classifieds site. Many real offers, and many scams.
- PAP (de particulier à particulier): owners renting without an agency.
- Facebook groups for colocation in Paris, and your school or company's housing groups.
- Students: CROUS residences and the Cité internationale universitaire. Apply months ahead.
- Your dossier: ID or passport and residence permit, proof of studies or job, recent payslips or proof of income, and your garant's documents or Visale certificate. The state service DossierFacile lets you share it as one link.
What renting a room in Paris costs
LocService's 2026 colocation observatory puts the average Paris room at €776 a month with charges, up 3.8% in a year. Studapart's 2025 student barometer found €795 for a room against €974 for a studio. Outside the city, LocService lists €807 in Boulogne-Billancourt, €658 in Montreuil and €591 in Saint-Denis.
Ads say CC (charges comprises, charges included) or HC (hors charges). Check which, and ask whether electricity and internet are extra. Tenants are expected to have home insurance (assurance habitation), and landlords usually ask for the certificate at move-in. Taxe d'habitation is no longer charged on a main home.
- Deposit: at most 1 month's rent without charges for an unfurnished lease, 2 months for furnished, and none at all on a bail mobilité (Service-Public).
- Agency fees: the tenant's share is capped per square metre, at about €12/m² in Paris for the visit, file and lease plus about €3/m² for the check-in inventory, and never more than the landlord pays. Service-Public has a simulator.
- Housing aid (APL from the CAF): each flatmate can claim their own share. Since 1 July 2026, non-EU students on a student residence permit qualify only if they have a CROUS needs-based grant, a job, or an apprenticeship contract (Service-Public).
Rules and paperwork
This is what is common in Paris, not legal advice. Service-Public.fr is the official reference and is updated when rules change.
- Lease types: unfurnished 3 years; furnished 1 year (9 months for a student); bail mobilité 1 to 10 months, furnished, for students, interns and people on a work assignment, not renewable.
- Clause de solidarité: on one shared lease, each flatmate can be asked to pay the whole rent. After you leave, this lasts until someone replaces you on the lease, or at most 6 months after your notice ends. A bail mobilité cannot contain this clause.
- Rent control (encadrement des loyers): rent on a new Paris lease may not exceed a reference rent for the area. The scheme ran until 24 November 2026 and a two-year extension was going through Parliament, so check the current status on Service-Public.
- Visale: a free guarantee from Action Logement. Under-30s qualify; in Île-de-France, students under 30 qualify for a rent up to €1,000 with charges without an income check. Apply on visale.fr before you sign.
- The law lists what a landlord may ask for. Bank statements and money to "reserve" a flat are not on the list.
Scams and red flags
- The owner is "abroad" and will post the keys after you transfer a deposit. Never pay for a flat you have not visited.
- A large, central room far below €776 with charges. Search the photos online; many are copied from other ads.
- Requests for a passport scan before any visit. Fake landlords collect dossiers for identity fraud. Add a watermark to every document with the state's free Filigrane Facile tool.
- A sublet (sous-location) without the owner's written consent. You have little protection and can be told to leave.
- Before paying: see the room in person or on a live video with the actual flatmates, ask who signed the lease, and pay only after signing, by bank transfer to the person named on the lease.
Neighborhoods to know in Paris
11th arrondissement (Oberkampf, Bastille)
Young workers and students, bars and older buildings split into colocations. Mid to high prices for Paris. Metro lines 1, 5, 8, 9 and 11.
10th arrondissement (Canal Saint-Martin)
Central and popular with internationals, from the canal to the streets around Gare du Nord and Gare de l'Est, which are cheaper and noisier. Good links, including RER B and D.
18th, 19th and 20th (Montmartre slopes, Belleville)
The most affordable rooms inside Paris, with many students and internationals. Rents vary a lot street by street. Lines 2, 4, 7, 11 and 12 among others.
13th arrondissement
Chinatown, the Butte-aux-Cailles and the newer Paris Rive Gauche district near university campuses. Mid prices, lots of modern buildings. Line 14, line 7 and RER C.
14th and the Cité Universitaire
Quieter and residential. The Cité internationale universitaire de Paris on boulevard Jourdan houses thousands of students and researchers; you apply through its houses, early. RER B and tram T3a.
Latin Quarter (5th and 6th)
Next to the Sorbonne and many schools, but rooms are small and expensive. Many are chambres de bonne, former maids' rooms under the roof, often with a shared toilet on the landing.
Just outside Paris (Montreuil, Saint-Denis)
Cheaper: LocService puts the average room at €658 in Montreuil and €591 in Saint-Denis (2026). Montreuil is on line 9; Saint-Denis has lines 13 and 14 and RER B and D.
Questions about renting in Paris
How much does a room in a colocation cost in Paris?
About €776 a month on average with charges included, according to LocService's 2026 observatory. Rooms just outside the city, such as in Montreuil (€658) or Saint-Denis (€591), cost less.
Do I need a French guarantor to rent a room in Paris?
Most landlords ask for a garant. If you have no one in France, Visale from Action Logement is a free guarantee for people under 30 and some others; in Île-de-France students under 30 qualify for a rent up to €1,000 with charges. Apply on visale.fr before signing.
Can international students get CAF housing aid (APL) in Paris?
EU students can apply like French students, and each flatmate in a colocation claims their own share. Since 1 July 2026, non-EU students on a student residence permit qualify only with a CROUS needs-based grant, a job or an apprenticeship contract.
What is a bail mobilité?
A furnished lease of 1 to 10 months for students, interns and people on a work assignment. The landlord cannot ask for a deposit, it cannot include a solidarity clause, and it cannot be renewed.
Is Roomly free?
Yes. Searching for apartments and roommates and posting a listing on Roomly are free.
Helpful guides
Sources
Last checked November 6, 2026. Rules and prices change, so check the official sources before you sign or pay.