Are you planning to move to and find accommodation in Paris in the near future and wondering how much to budget for housing?

An analysis conducted by Chez Nestor on the current Parisian market allows us to understand more clearly and to have precise data on the average rent you could pay for your new life in Paris!

The results are based on a study of the Parisian rental market in 2021, and combine our own data with that of other market players.

Context: The most expensive average rents in France for studios

A bit of background before we get into the nitty-gritty: a study conducted by the website Les Echos in 2018 shows the gaps in rental prices between different cities in France. Unsurprisingly, Paris and its surrounding suburbs rank as the most expensive in the entire country. The chart below shows the 16 most expensive cities in the region, Paris city centre at the head of the ranking with an average rent of 872 € per month (excluding charges) and Versailles the most budget friendly of the Ile de France region at with 637 € (excluding charges). This is a considerable budget for students who will often have to balance their studies with a job if they do not have significant financial support from family. 

It should be noted that these figures are from 2018, and the market in 2022 has seen an evolution of about 10% to 15% over the last 4 years depending on the city. Since the ranking dates from 2018 and is based on studio apartments (and not shared apartments), it is important to keep in mind that it is more of a trend and a point of comparison than reliable data to precisely estimate and explain the rents of shared apartments in Paris.

The average price of a studio in Paris VS the average price of a flatshare or coliving in Paris

The prices of 2022 have changed and housing is becoming more and more expensive, which is why rent control has been introduced in Paris in order to slow down the surge in real estate market prices. In addition, depending on your situation, you may be eligible for housing subsidies which can reduce the impact of the price of your Parisian rent up to 258 €, an amount that is due to increase in 2023 in order to fight against inflation.

An average studio apartment of around 30 m² in Paris will cost you around 1085 € including charges. Of course, this varies according to the district, but keep this figure in mind as a benchmark of the price you will have to spend in order to find accommodation.

In comparison, it costs an average of €962 including utilities to find a fully furnished, ready-to-live-in flatshare in Paris with Chez Nestor. You will save 11% or about 123€ per month by choosing a shared apartment rather than a studio apartment. This is one of the cities where the savings in value in a shared apartment compared to a studio is the highest in our ranking. Moreover, you should not forget that you gain a lot of living space and comfort compared to a studio, since on average a Parisian flat share offers a living space of more than 90m².

Even if this difference is not exactly the same in all French cities, flatshares always prove to be more financially beneficial, in addition to other advantages. So, if you are hesitating between renting a studio apartment or joining a shared apartment, then the second solution could be the right one!

The average price of a studio in Paris VS the average price of a flatshare in france

We conducted similar studies for the 6 cities in which we currently offer flatshares and the results are clear. For the following cities:

• Paris
• Lyon
• Bordeaux
• Toulouse
• Lille
• Montpellier

Living in shared accommodation always has more financial advantages than living alone in a studio, even more so for couples renting a room  in a shared apartment, which reduces the rent by 50% and makes the cost of housing simply unbeatable.

Here are the results of our study for the 6 cities mentioned above: 

The city offering the lowest ratio is Bordeaux with a 19.15% difference, which will save you 115.32 € per month. The city offering the best savings ratio for living in a shared apartment compared to a studio is Lille, which will save you an average of 41% on rent compared to a furnished studio apartment, which equates to the princely sum of €194.40 per month, or €2334 per year - an enormous difference for a student's or young worker's budget.

The average distribution of charges in Parisian rents

Dividing rent by the number of inhabitants in an apartment obviously allows a significant reduction in the total cost, but one should not forget that utilities represent a significant part of the rent.

In fact, in Paris, you should count on average 100 € of utility bills (energy, water, wifi, building charges, maintenance, insurance…) per tenant per month in a shared apartment, which represents almost 10% of the total rent. If you live alone in a furnished studio apartment, you should budget 139.2 € of monthly utilities, which is €1670 per year.

Here is the average breakdown of these bills in Paris for a shared apartment.

The charges to be foreseen on average by their distribution are as follows: 

• Water : 1,5% or 2 € per month
• Gas and electricity : 41,1% or 32 € per month
• Insurance : 2,9% or 3,98 € per month
• Building fees: 18.3% or 20 € per month
• Maintenance : 26,5% or 31 € per month 
• Internet : 10,1% or 11 € per month

One of the main advantages of a Chez Nestor flatshare is that all of the utilities mentioned above are fully included in the rent of our accommodation in Paris, and set up before you arrive, saving you a lot of time, energy, and money. You should also know that some tenants will also have to pay housing tax until 2023 depending on their economic criteria and their location. This amount is never included in rent in France. 

What can cause rents to vary in Paris?

There are different criteria that affect  the price of a shared apartment in Paris, even causing rental prices to fluctuate at different times of the year. Let’s look at the different factors which cause the prices to vary and discover the most expensive months to rent a studio or join a flatshare - and of course, the best months to find lower prices.

Time of year and market tension

Regardless of the city in which you wish to live, the rental market has the particularity of evolving strongly downward or upward depending on the period of the year. Seasonality therefore has a strong impact on rents, which can vary by more than 20% between the low and high seasons. There are many reasons for these variations. The two periods where demand is highest and supply lowest are the following: 

• The beginning of the school year in September increases the price of rent from the end of June until October. Whether it is for French students, Erasmus students or even young professionals, this is the most common period for moving. The massive and rapid need for housing increases the prices significantly.
• The second school year in January, with the rotating semesters, the arrival of the second wave of Erasmus students generates a similar (but less significant) market tension to the beginning of September.

On the other hand, the months when Parisian shared apartment rents are the lowest are from April to the end of June when the average rent can drop below 900 €, explained by a decrease in demand. April being the cheapest month, it is the time of the year when it is easiest to find a place to live at the most competitive price. Here is a summary which compares the average prices for every month of the year for a Chez Nestor flatshare:

The location of the apartment: its neighborhood and/or its district

As you can imagine, the location of an apartment will affect its price. In Paris, prices can vary by as much as 35% between the most expensive and the most affordable districts.

Neighborhoods with the most amenities, the most pleasant to live in or close to schools and universities will tend to be the most expensive, while the more residential and less attractive neighborhoods will be the most affordable. We explain here why you should live in a flatshare in Paris with some advantages of the neighborhoods to help you in your search! 

Here is a list of the districts of Paris according to their average costs per square meter. 

• The most accessible: You can find the least expensive housing from the 12th to the 15th arrondissement (district), as well as the 19th and 20th. These are generally in the north and southeast of the city.
• The arrondissements of Paris with mid-range rents: The northwest districts will be in the average price range, and the arrondissements between the 16th and the 18th or the 8th and the 9th.
• The most expensive arrondissements of Paris: From the 1st to the 7th arrondissement, i.e. in the hyper center of Paris, you will truly be living the Parisian dream, which will of course require a higher budget. All these districts are perfect for students because they are extremely well located in the city.

The fact that your home is close to a school, a subway or bus line, or an amenity that will facilitate or improve your pace of life can also have an impact on the price.

The quality of the accommodation and its size

Two rooms rented in the same period and in the same district can offer very different rents depending on their amenities as well as their size. If your apartment has a garden, an incredible living room or if your bedroom measures 35 square meters, it is obvious that the impact on the price will be equivalent to the quality of the services provided. So the bigger the room, the better equipped and the more comfortable the common areas, the higher your rent will be. At Nestor, we offer both standard and premium rooms so that every tenant can find the right offer. 

The level of service of your real estate agency

Finally, the last point that can affect the price of a flatshare in Paris is the services that are offered to you if you go through a real estate agency.

If you deal with the landlord directly, you will not have to pay any service fees, but you will not be protected in case of an incident, your landlord may not be reactive or may not offer maintenance in case of damage at his expense.

On the other hand, when renting through Chez Nestor, you have the peace of mind multilingual support team available to answer your questions, deal with your maintenance requests and to provide general support for the duration of your stay. 

We offer online viewing, creation and signing of your rental contract online so that you can move in within 24 hours - a level of service that no other agency can boast. This efficiency and convenience of course has a slight impact on the level of rent of our rooms - however, it is nonetheless a more financially advantageous option than renting a studio!