Moving to Paris?
Finding a place to call home in a new city can be stressful, time consuming, and sometimes impossible without a guide to walk you through the process. It’s extremely important to find a place where you feel safe, and that you’re getting your money’s worth. Like any big city, Paris’ housing market moves quickly. One day you could find the place of your dreams, and within hours it could be scooped up by another renter. There are endless options online for finding a place to live, but many are infested with scammers that will trick you into paying a down deposit in order to “secure” your apartment. It’s important to stay vigilant and patient during your search, to avoid these scammers and find the perfect apartment. It’s common to reach out to an apartment agency/owner and not hear back. Resist the feeling of desperation and know that everything will work out! People are constantly moving to and from Paris. It’s the most visited city in the entire world, and for good reason! It’s the city of love, lights, food, and so much more!
Our Apartment Hunt
We moved to Paris in March of 2023 from the United States. Ultimately, we received the keys to our new place within one week of arriving. We consider ourselves extremely lucky, as we landed a beautiful top floor apartment with floor to ceiling windows, stunning views, fully furnished, and in the 5th arrondissement. We hope others can benefit from a similar experience using this guide! This guide is particularly helpful to students, short term dwellers, vagabonds, expats, and anyone else looking for the perfect Paris apartment!
Top 20 tips and tricks to finding an apartment in Paris:
1. There are plenty of websites that can help!
Our suggestions include:
2. A realtor or “immobilier” is a great option.
The websites listed above are great options for getting an idea of the expected prices and options, but beware that scammers can also post there. If you are sick of all the scams and want to work directly with a trusted source, you can search for “paris immobilier” and dig through all of the different real estate agencies. Most of these independent realtors will have apartments listed on their website and you can just reach out directly. A lot of the time, these agencies will list properties on Lodgis or Seloger, and when you click via one of those websites, it will show the agency as the listing host (this is a good thing)! Still, it’s best to be cautious and make sure that the agency is legit. We recommend searching them on google and making sure that they have some google reviews.
Please note that most agencies will charge a “finders fee” or “agency fee” of about ½ a month’s rent. In our opinion, it’s totally worth the fee to avoid any scammers.
3. Make sure you know the area. You want to feel safe and at home!
Before moving anywhere, it’s a good idea to see what the neighborhood is like at all times of the day. Is the morning bustling with commuter traffic? Are the lunch spots popular nearby? Do I feel safe walking home at night? These questions are hard to answer without spending some time in the area before moving. It’s always an option to stay in an Airbnb while you’re searching for an apartment. That way you can spend some time exploring!
4. Google maps is your friend.
Use this little guy and plop yourself on the map next to the apartments that you are interested in. This will show you what the area is like and if the apartment building is legit. One time we put in an address that took us to an abandoned warehouse in a sketchy neighborhood. It’s always good to check!
5. Furnished vs unfurnished?
This question ultimately comes down to how much time you plan to live in Paris, how quickly you’re hoping to move, and how much money you are willing to spend. We knew that we might only be in Paris for a year, so we opted for the furnished route. It made moving to a new country 10x easier, knowing we didn’t have to lug a 200 pound couch up 7 flights of stairs. It is quite common for an apartment to come furnished, and all of the websites that we posted have furnished options. It’s important to note that a lot of classic Parisian apartments were built 200+ years ago, and do not have an elevator. In some cases you would have to hire movers to crane furniture through the window. If you do decide to go the unfurnished route, you should check out one the many flea markets in Paris for reasonably priced furniture!
6. When in doubt, reach out!
No joke, we probably contacted over 100 property owners/agencies over the course of a few weeks. We weren’t used to the high demand market, and felt that having multiple options would increase our chances of finding a place. If you can handle juggling lots of inquiries at one time, we recommend the same for you. It’s always good to have options! In order to reach out to as many places as possible, we recommend having a template introduction (see tip #). You might see some places that look too good to be true, or immediately scream “SCAM” to you, but as long as you trust your gut to weed out those options, it doesn’t hurt to reach out. Just don’t provide any personal information until you feel that trust has been earned.
7. Touring an apartment is the only way to know if it’s the right fit.
We understand you might not live in Paris yet, and are hoping to find a place before moving. The reality of the situation is that it is going to be a gamble. You will not know if a place is legit without seeing it with your own two eyes. If possible, we recommend having a temporary place to stay until you find a permanent apartment.
8. Texting > Emailing
One thing that we were not expecting was for a lot of the apartment owners and realtors (immobiliers) to communicate via text message. In America, most of these deals are handled via email so there is a paper trail. This made us a tad uncomfortable at first. Don’t be alarmed though, it’s just how they like to communicate! Download the DeepL app so you can easily translate and text in French on your phone.
9. DeepL is your new best friend.
When moving to a new country, it is always polite to attempt to speak the native language. When you are apartment hunting online, you will most likely have to send an email inquiry to request more information or set up a tour. The French can be somewhat ~picky~ in terms of their preference for a renter, and they will likely only respond if you reach out in French. It’s okay if you don’t actually speak French, that doesn’t have to come up until you’ve made it further along in the process. Don’t take yourself out of the running immediately just by speaking English (or any other language). If you’re like us, and are not fluent in French, you’ll probably need to do some translating. We’ve found that DeepL is best for translating French. With the app, you can translate files, take pictures of French text, and record (helpful for phone calls). The point is, speaking French to the apartment owner or agency is an easy way to elevate your chances and show some respect.
10. NEVER spend a dime unless you’ve seen the apartment or have clear evidence that the apartment is real.
About ⅓ of the places that we reached out to ended up being scams. Trust your gut here. It’s unlikely that you will find a 1 bedroom in the 4th arr. for less than 1500 euro, so don’t be fooled by good prices. You should know the average cost per bedroom in each area, to avoid a “too good to be true” situation. If it feels too good to be true, it is. One of the most common scams is someone asking for payment way too early. You should never pay anything unless you are working with a trusted source, or have toured the apartment.
11. Stay on top of it! Don’t be afraid to stay consistent in your communication.
One thing that we’ve realized about the French is that they like to take their time. Whether that’s taking one hour to drink one shot of espresso, or starting work at 10 a.m., they don’t exactly seem rushed to do anything. The same applies to apartment owners and sometimes rental agencies. You might send an email one day and not receive a response for a week. There is a fine line between staying persistent and being annoying. We found that it doesn’t hurt to follow up after a couple of days. It’s also extremely important that you respond to them within 1-hour of their email/call to you (if possible). They might dedicate one hour a week to finding a renter, and you want to make sure you work on their schedule. Be responsive and stay persistent! That will elevate you above some of the lazier seekers.
12. Organization is key.
As mentioned, we reached out to 100+ apartments. In order to stay organized, we made a master spreadsheet that included the link to the apartment, price, square feet (or meters), arrondissement, date contacted, tour date, and ranking (1-5). Set up something similar to keep yourself organized.
13. Have your documents in order.
If you’ve going through the visa process, you already know that it’s important to have all of your documents in order. The same applies for the apartment search! Once you make it far enough into your conversation with an owner/agency, they will ask for copies of your visa, work permits, guarantor documents, proof of income, proof of insurance, bank account information, previous rental payments, etc. The last thing that you would want is to lose a place because someone else sent their file quicker than you did. Keep all of your documents in a file that is ready to send. It also helps to bring a paper copy of this information if you’re going on a tour so you can hand it to the owner once you leave!
14. “About Me” 1-pager for the win
It’s important to humanize yourself as much as possible. Similar to how you’re looking for a trusted apartment owner, they are also looking for a trusted renter. They want to make sure that the person who will be living in their apartment and paying them rent is a good and honest person. One trick that we’ve found extremely helpful in the apartment hunt, is to provide a cover letter with a picture, a short introduction, credit scores, salaries, and contact information. That way the owner can get to know you a little better, and it helps to build trust. It might seem cheesy, but it really helps!
15. Garantme – finding a guarantor
Paris has an official rule that you must make 3x the monthly rent. Depending on where you want to live, this rule can make things tricky. If you’re like us and want to live in the heart of Paris, in a furnished apartment, this rule makes it almost impossible. The only way that we made it work was by applying for “Garantme”. This online guarantor service allows you to show savings and other sources of income in order to guarantee that you can afford a higher priced apartment. In fact, most rental agencies in Paris require that you have a guarantor regardless of your situation, as it adds an extra layer of protection (for you and the apartment owner). Garantme will charge a small fee (depending on your rent), only after you have signed a lease agreement. They will also offer an extra layer of security for you, because they must approve of the apartment before a lease is signed. It’s a good idea to prepare your application before you begin the apartment search, so you have the Garantme documents ready to go. The certificate does expire after a few months, so we recommend applying for it about 2 weeks before you begin touring apartments.
16. Get the cost breakdown
This seems obvious, but make sure you get a full breakdown of what is included in the monthly rent. Most of the time it does not include internet, electricity, heat, and water. Here’s what we spend on these things so you can budget (prices vary based on square meters):
- Electricity: 35€/month
- Internet: 30€/month
- Gas: 70€/month
- Water: 40€/month
17. Deposits & transferring money
Once you have found the right place to live, you will need to transfer money to the owner or agency. Depending on where you are moving from, you might want to consider the exchange rate and any foreign transfer fees (most US banks charge $30+ just to make the transfer). If you are super organized, you will have planned to set up a EU bank account to avoid any transfer fees.
18. You can only be but so picky when you’re competing to live in the most beautiful city in the world..
Finding the perfect place in Paris is virtually impossible. You’re competing with the whole world here. Create a list of “must haves” so you know where to start, and be prepared to lower your standards. We’ve found that the most important thing is location, safety, and sunlight. Maybe your list is similar! Think about it so you have a good place to start.
19. What comes next?
Now that you’ve found a place, what comes next? We’re here to help with all your questions:
20. Have fun with it!
It’s not every day that you move to Paris! If you see an apartment with Eiffel Tower views along the Seine that is way out of your budget, tour it just for fun! This is a really great opportunity to see what is out there. If you stay positive, keep your options open, and follow these steps, we guarantee you will find something special!