Flat in Paris for 3 months
 

Can anyone recommend an agency for renting a flat in Paris for 3 months?
It's for a student at the Alliance Francaise.

Price??
Doesn't the school have lists of housing options?

School options are not very good, I think more geared towards people who just stay for a few weeks. Mostly apartment hotels, at 1100 tot 1400 a month, and not very good locations.
We're looking at up to 1500/month.

$ or Euros?

Most apartments rented for a period of fewer than 9 months to students are illegal rentals in Paris. I would go with the school recommendations or take a look at Citadine or Adagio apartment/hotels which have unites available all over Paris.

I rented an apartment in Paris for three months through VRBO. The site typically caters to one week vacation rentals but because I was looking for such a long time I actually was offered a better deal per week. My internship was seven years ago and I had heard that since then Paris was trying to pass an ordinance to stop transient housing but I don't know how far that went.

Things have changed a lot in 7 years re: apartment rentals.

<i>I had heard that since then Paris was trying to pass an ordinance to stop transient housing but I don't know how far that went.</i>

The law is called ALUR and it is making a big difference in what is available in the short term rental market in Paris. The mayor´s office is currently making a big enforcement push with a new staff of approximately 20 offices working full time to halt illegal apartment rentals in Paris with owners being fined and many apartments being withdrawn from the market.

I would approach with caution any short term apartment rental in Paris.

DebitNM; euros obviously, this is Paris.
The school recommends Adagio, but also Paris Select Apartments. These are regular flats. They don't list prices though. Would Alliance Francaise recommend them if the lets are illegal?

"DebitNM; euros obviously, this is Paris."

You'd be surprised how many people post on this forum using US$.

I know, and I don't keep up with the euro/dollar rates so never know how much it is.

I was mailing with an agency called Paris Attitude, and they assure me that all their rentals are perfectly legal. I've since read the reviews on that agency, so will give that one a miss.

What would make a rental legal as opposed to illegal? We loved staying in our apt in Paris and would like to be able to do so in the future. Any insight into this would be appreciated. Thank you.

See Sarastro's posts above. Apparently most short term rentals of private apartments are not allowed by law.

michele -
From another thread:
<i> In cities in France with a population of 200,000 or more and also in the départements that surround Paris apartments can't be rented for less than one year, or 9 months to students, unless it is the owners main residence in which case it can be rented for up to 4 months of the year. There are other ways to get around this (buying an equivalent amount of commercial space and converting it to residential space) but it makes it virtually economically unfeasible.

The only thing people need to know is that no matter whether you are using a reputable agency or VRBO or AirBnB etc. is that the overwhelming majority of the short term apartment rentals in Paris are illegal. It's always been this way but only in recent years has city hall decided to crack down on this. Agencies have nothing to do with whether or not the apartment is legal and there is no such thing as a registry to list your apartment with the city. You are either in compliance with the law or you are not. So if you are renting an apt. in Paris the odds are overwhelmingly high that you are staying in an illegal rental.

I don't think universities are into giving recommendations of apartment rentals, nor schools like Alliance Francaise. Why would they? Student housing is considered foyers or residence halls, and that's where many live, and where I lived whenever I attended schools there. Alliance Francaise is just a small school so doesn't have its own residence building, but they have a list of suggestions for such (foyers, etc) and I think sometimes would arrange family stays.

IF you want an apt, you are on your own, I believe. Citadines would be too expensive for a student, I don't know why this student has to have their own apt instead of staying in foyers like many many others do. A student at Alliance Francaise should even qualify to stay in the same residence halls as those at the Sorbonne (where I stayed once). It's nice to meet other students IMO.

This is hte URL for the Cite Universitaire, the one used for the Sorbonne. http://www.ciup.fr/en/


This is a student residence hall (private, anyone can stay there) which isn't very far from the Alliance Francaise http://www.fiap.asso.fr/index-en.html

Here is an assn of foyers, I know someone who stayed in the 4th one down and said it was okay. It is a very good location in the Latin Quarter. It's for women.

http://www.unme-asso.com/VillesUNME/Paris.html

The residence halls that Alliance offer are available during summer months only.
Ciup is only for students at Sorbonne or summer stays.
Fiap looks good, and I didn't know about the foyers; that would be ideal. Thanks for the tips!

If you pay a deposit on a rental apartment and the owner is sanctioned by the Mayor's Task force and forced to pull the listing off the market, you would receive a full refund, but would have to find another place to stay.

Due to new tax impositions on rental property, many apartments are up for sale. If you rent in advance and the apartment is sold, the new owner will not honor your reservation - though you would receive a refund.

Needless to say, this should be avoided.
A foyer would be the best idea, and would also allow you to practice your French, which is what you're hoping to do, anyway.

A couple of contributors to this forum have repeatedly warned recently against renting an apartment in Paris on a short-term basis. I don't want to willingly rent an apartment that is being offered illegally. But, I don't want to stay in a hotel or hotel-like setting for the month or so that I usually stay in Paris each year. What is the solution? Visit Paris for no longer than I can stand to stay in a small hotel room without a kitchen, washing machine, and such other conveniences? I don't think so! As for the enforcement of ALUR, who on this forum has experienced, first-hand, being ejected from his or her illegally rented apartment? Who has experienced being menaced by neighbors for renting an illegally rented apartment? If so, what did you do? I would simply like to hear from anyone who has suffered from ALUR enforcement, not those who repeatedly proffer dire warnings.

billandcindy,

What is the point of your post? It sounds like you go into a panic if anybody comes close to popping your mental bubble with facts.

If you want to take the risks of renting an apartment in Paris -- and it sounds like you have made up your mind to do that no matter what you read -- go ahead. But other people deserve to know about the crackdowns and problems with vacation rentals in Paris and other vacation destinations. That's what a travel forum is for.

Your post is ridiculous.

It is not only this message board where people warn against illegal short-term rentals in Paris

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic...de_France.html