Student Housing in France 2026/27: Crous Residences, Private Rentals, Visale and CAF Housing Aid

International students in France have five main housing options: a residence run by Crous (the public student-services agency), the Cité internationale universitaire in Paris for master's students and above, a private student residence, a room or studio from a private landlord, and a room with an older person or a host family. Crous is the cheapest. In Paris, most Crous studios cost $409–637 (€360–560) a month including utilities from 1 September 2026, but international students without a French scholarship can only apply from 7 July, once most places have been allocated. On the private market, the average student studio costs $1,049 (€923) in Paris, $735 (€647) in Lyon and $623 (€548) in Lille. Since 1 July 2026, non-EU students holding a student residence permit receive CAF housing aid only if they have a means-tested scholarship, a job or a work-study contract, so most students from Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan can no longer count on it.

Dollar figures use the ECB rate of 24 September 2026 (€1 = $1.1367) and are rounded. This guide covers housing only; tuition and the full annual budget are covered in our guide to the cost of studying in France.

Housing options and what they cost

Private-market figures are averages of listings and requests on LocService between 21 May 2025 and 20 May 2026, utilities included. Crous prices come from Crous de Paris and apply from 1 September 2026.

Crous residences: how an international student without a scholarship gets in

The Crous (Centres régionaux des œuvres universitaires et scolaires) run student residences near campuses, with places allocated first to students on means-tested scholarships. A non-EU student qualifies for such a scholarship only after living in France for at least two years and belonging to a French tax household for the same period, which rules out almost every first-year arrival.

Main phase (students who filed the social file, DSE). In 2026 there were three rounds: 5 May – 1 June, 9–15 June and 23–29 June. Each round allows up to 10 residences anywhere in France, and an offer must be confirmed within five days.

Complementary phase (everyone, including international students without a DSE). From 7 July 2026 at 10:00 Paris time, remaining places for 2026/27 opened on trouverunlogement.lescrous.fr. You can hold only one request per Crous at a time. Requests meeting priority criteria get an immediate answer; the rest are reviewed by Crous staff. What you see depends on your profile, so log in before searching.

Exchange students and French government scholars. For Erasmus+ and inter-university exchanges, the host institution requests the Crous place. For French government scholars managed by Campus France, Campus France does it.

What Crous costs in Paris

Crous de Paris publishes rates for every residence. For 2026/27, prices are published for 81 Paris residences. About 80% of the 236 offers fall within $409–637 (€360–560) a month, with a median around $500 (€440). Rent covers utilities, internet and furniture; Crous may revise its rates. Examples:

Outside Paris, Crous is usually cheaper: Campus France gives an average of about $398 (€350) a month in the regions against $512 (€450) in Paris. For popular Paris residences, Crous suggests adding a substitute choice (vœu de substitution) to improve your odds of getting any place.

Cité internationale universitaire de Paris

The CIUP is a campus of 47 houses in southern Paris, some representing countries and some representing schools. It accepts master's and doctoral students (Bac+4 and above) enrolled at an institution, preferably in Île-de-France. Applications are online with no deadline, but requests for September must be made in April. If you have no offer 15 days before your planned arrival, your application was not accepted. National houses admit their own nationals; other houses set their own criteria. Rates depend on the house and room type and are shown when you apply.

Private rentals: prices by city

LocService's 2026 review puts the average French student studio at $663 (€583) for 24 m², a room at $551 (€485) for 14 m² and a one-bedroom flat at $891 (€784) for 42 m², all including utilities. On LocService's tension index, which compares tenant requests with listings, Paris again ranks first among student cities.

The suburbs that host the Nanterre, Créteil, Cergy and Paris-Saclay campuses are only $148–284 (€130–250) cheaper than central Paris; real savings on rent come in regional cities. For choosing between Paris and the regions, see our guides to universities in Paris and universities in France.

The lease: deposit, duration and notice

Deposit (dépôt de garantie). For an unfurnished home the deposit cannot exceed one month's rent excluding charges; for a furnished home, two months. It is prohibited when rent is paid quarterly in advance and under a bail mobilité. The amount must appear in the lease.

Getting the deposit back. If the exit inventory (état des lieux) matches the entry inventory, the landlord must return the deposit within one month of your handing back the keys; otherwise within two months. Each started month of delay adds 10% of the monthly rent. Deductions must be backed by documents such as inventories, photos or invoices. In a building with shared charges, the landlord may hold back up to 20% until the annual service-charge reconciliation.

Bail mobilité. A furnished lease of 1 to 10 months available to students among others. It cannot be renewed and no deposit may be taken. It suits a semester or an internship; for a full academic year, a standard furnished lease is more common.

Notice. For a furnished home, one month's notice. For an unfurnished home, three months, reduced to one month in tight-market areas (zones tendues) including Paris, provided you state the reason in your letter; otherwise three months apply.

Rent caps. In Paris, the Est Ensemble and Plaine Commune suburbs, Lyon and Villeurbanne, Lille, Bordeaux, Montpellier, part of the Grenoble area and the French Basque Country, rents are capped by reference rates. Base rent may not exceed the higher reference rent (loyer de référence majoré); any supplement must be justified and shown in the advert and lease. Landlords face fines of up to $5,684 (€5,000). Service-Public links to a simulator for checking a Paris rent.

Insurance and utilities. Tenant's home insurance is compulsory. If you rent a flat, you set up electricity and gas in your own name; in residences they are usually included.

Guarantors and Visale

French landlords almost always ask for a guarantor, a person or body that pays if you stop paying. Campus France notes that a private guarantor is usually expected to be based in France, so parents abroad rarely satisfy landlords. For most international students the answer is Visale.

What Visale is. A free guarantee from Action Logement for anyone aged 18 to 30 inclusive, students included. It covers private housing, student residences and, for students, social housing.

When international students can apply. Non-EU students need a valid long-stay VLS-TS visa marked "étudiant" or a student residence permit. You cannot apply before the visa's start date: if your visa is valid from 26 August 2026, applications open that day. Certification takes a few working days and, for students, remains valid for six months.

How much rent it covers. Students are accepted without proof of income if rent including charges does not exceed:

For a higher rent, Visale looks at your income: the guaranteed rent cannot exceed half of it, with a ceiling of $2,205 (€1,940) in Île-de-France, $1,790 (€1,575) in large urban areas and $1,552 (€1,365) elsewhere.

The steps. You obtain your Visale certificate and show it to the landlord. The landlord opens an account on visale.fr and signs the guarantee contract before the lease is signed, and the lease must be signed while your certificate is valid.

If a landlord will not accept Visale, Campus France mentions paid guarantor services such as GarantMe. It advises against paying months of rent in advance before a lease is signed.

CAF housing aid after 1 July 2026

The APL and ALS housing benefits are paid by the Caisse d'allocations familiales (CAF). Before July 2026, an international student with a residence permit and a formal lease could claim them on the general terms. Since 1 July 2026, a student from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland holding a student residence permit can receive APL or ALS only if one of these applies:

1. they hold a Crous means-tested scholarship or an equivalent regional scholarship;
2. they have a professional activity (a job);
3. they study under an apprenticeship or professionalisation contract (work-study).

The first route is closed to typical first-year arrivals (it requires two years' residence in France), the second requires genuine employment and the third a contract with an employer. Service-Public does not set a minimum amount of work, nor does it describe any transitional exception for students who were receiving aid before 1 July. CAF assesses eligibility, and its simulator on caf.fr shows your own case.

Even when you qualify, payments start late. Aid is due from the first day of the month after the month you apply and is paid on the 5th. Move in on 15 October and your entitlement starts in November, with the first payment on 5 December. Leave APL out of both your visa budget and your first months' planning.

Housing, visa and the first weeks

The visa centre publishes the full document list for the long-stay student visa; see our guide to the student visa for France. After arrival, the VLS-TS must be validated online within three months, which requires a French address. Campus France recommends booking at least temporary accommodation for the first weeks and looking for a permanent place on the spot. Applicants under 18 at the start of studies need a guardian in France to obtain the visa.

Where to search and how to avoid scams

Official and vetted channels:

• trouverunlogement.lescrous.fr for Crous residences;
• Lokaviz, the Crous platform with residence and private listings;
• your institution's housing service; many grandes écoles and private schools have their own residences or listings;
• the CIUP for master's and doctoral students;
• DossierFacile, a public service that helps you assemble a tenant file and share it securely.

Campus France also lists private channels: student-residence operators, PAP, Leboncoin and SeLoger, and flat-share sites. Listings there are not vetted.

Safety rules:

• never transfer money before a lease is signed and you have dealt directly with the owner or organisation;
• do not pay several months' rent in advance;
• be wary of prices far below the averages above;
• in rent-capped cities an advert must state the base rent and the reference rent; if it does not, treat that as a warning sign;
• sign an entry inventory with photos, because your deposit depends on it.

Timeline for 2027/28 applicants

1. December–March. Apply to programmes; shortlist two or three cities and compare Crous and private studio prices.
2. April. Master's students admitted in Île-de-France apply to the CIUP for September.
3. May–June. Ask your institution about its residences or Crous quota for international students; exchange students' places are requested by the host institution.
4. From 7 July. Crous complementary phase for everyone (date based on the 2026 campaign).
5. July–August. Private residence or flat; apply for Visale from your visa's start date.
6. Move-in. Inventory with photos, insurance, electricity contract if not included.
7. First three months. Validate your VLS-TS online with your French address.

Common mistakes

• Budgeting with APL. Since 1 July 2026 non-EU students with a student residence permit receive it only with a Crous grant, a job or an alternance contract.
• Waiting for Crous until September with no back-up. International students without a DSE only enter the Crous process in July, when few places remain.
• Applying for Visale before your visa starts. The application will be refused.
• Choosing a suburb to save money without doing the maths. The rent difference is often smaller than the cost of transport and time.
• Paying a deposit above the legal limit. One month unfurnished, two months furnished, none under a bail mobilité.
• Skipping the entry inventory. Without it, recovering your deposit is hard.

Next step

Settle on a city and institution, then compare three scenarios: Crous at the rate of the residence you want, a private studio at the city average, and a private residence. Build the budget without APL. Decisions rest with Crous, the CIUP, landlords, Action Logement (Visale) and CAF; StudyU does not provide housing or influence their decisions. Personal strategy, requirement checks, programme shortlisting, documents and application support are provided under a contract with StudyU. For the wider picture see Study in France, and for reducing costs our guide to scholarships in France.

FAQ

Sources

• Crous: housing platform and 2026/27 campaign dates
• Crous de Paris: residences and rates from 1 September 2026
• Crous network: housing
• Campus France: student housing
• Cité internationale universitaire de Paris: apply for accommodation
• Service-Public: APL, rules from 1 July 2026
• Service-Public: ALS, rules from 1 July 2026
• Service-Public: means-tested scholarship, conditions for foreign students
• Service-Public: rental deposit
• Service-Public: bail mobilité
• Service-Public: tenant's notice
• Service-Public: rent caps
• Visale: eligibility for under-30s
• Visale: obtaining the certificate
• Étudiant.gouv: student housing
• LocService: student housing key figures 2026 (market data)
• Campus France Russia: visas and arrival formalities

Official sources checked on 24 September 2026. ECB rate on 24 September 2026: €1 = $1.1367.

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