VSIt was already not easy for a young person to find a rental in July for the start of the university year. But, this year, the holding of the events of the different disciplines of the Olympic Games in Paris, but also in Marseille, Nantes, Bordeaux, Nice, Lyon, Villeneuve-d’Ascq, etc., makes the task even more difficult.
More than 3,000 small spaces were requisitioned for event staff. But above all, many owners have not put their property on the market, preferring to rent for a short period to tourists at high prices. As the shortage worsens, they tell themselves that they will find many students at the start of the school year. Added to this, in fact, is the ban on renting thermal strainers and the explosion in demand for small housing following the increase in divorces.
A real headache which is coupled with ever higher prices. In 80% of student towns, the average rent increased by more than 1% in 2024, notes the latest study carried out by LocService.fr, a peer-to-peer rental platform. And, in 40% of municipalities, the increase exceeds 3.5%.
Better to study in Limoges than in Île-de-France
A studio of 23 square meters rents on average for 907 euros, charges included, in Paris (+ 2.95%), 566 euros in Marseille (+ 3.10%), 514 euros in Toulouse (+ 3.84%), 511 euros in Nantes (+ 4.07%). The surge in rents is also reaching medium-sized towns which have increased their training offerings such as Brest (+ 10%, to 428 euros), Metz (+ 8.29%, to 467 euros) or Clermont-Ferrand (+ 5.38 %, at 431 euros).
READ ALSO Renting your apartment for the Olympics, is it (still) a good idea? Conversely, due to rent control, the increase is more reasonable in Lyon (+ 1%, to 592 euros) or in Lille (+ 1.35%, to 524 euros) bothe and 5e cities that welcome the most students after Paris. The prize for rental tension goes to the capital of Gaul, with more than four requests for one offer, followed by Rennes and Bordeaux. Conversely, there are almost as many demands as offers in Nice, Nantes or Metz.
Rent differences vary from one to two. Better to study in Limoges (379 euros), Poitiers (395 euros) or Le Mans (393 euros) than in Île-de-France (755 euros in Créteil, 696 euros in Saint-Denis, 680 euros in Nanterre, 672 euros in Guyancourt), even if prices have decreased over the past year.
In fact, 72% of students are looking for accommodation in the provinces, preferably furnished. Shared accommodation is winning, but it only represents 8% of requests, compared to 61% for a studio and 18% for a two-room apartment, according to the LocService study. If 87% of parents provide their deposit, 8% of students use the Visale guarantee, a system which allows Action Logement to act as guarantor on their behalf.
Some numbers
240,000. This is the number of student accommodations recorded in France, including 175,000 managed by the Crous.
35,000. This is the number of housing units that the government intends to build by 2027. They would be added to the 30,000 delivered during Emmanuel Macron’s first five-year term.
