Looking for a home in France

Start with the advert sites: SeLoger, Leboncoin, PAP, Bien'ici, Logic-Immo and Facebook Marketplace, and set alerts so adverts reach you as soon as posted since a delay of hours may lose the chance.

• And for students there are sites such as Studapart and Lokaviz (CROUS), and for flat sharing Roomlala and La Carte des colocs.
• Homes vary: a studio, one room, a T2, two rooms (a bedroom and a living room), a T3, three rooms, a colocation, shared living, and a chambre chez l'habitant.
• And they are described as meublé, furnished, or non meublé, empty.
• Read the advert: the area (m²), the floor, lift, heating (collectif or individuel), the energy rating (DPE) and the rent charges comprises (CC), that is including charges, or hors charges (HC).
• And search several districts, since the suburbs are cheaper and served by trams and trains.

The landlord requests a file to assess your capacity: an identity document (passport or residence card), proof of current address (justificatif de domicile), the work contract or employer's certificate (attestation employeur), the last three payslips (bulletins de salaire), the latest tax notice (avis d'imposition), and sometimes previous rent receipts (quittances de loyer).

• The rule is that your net income equals about three times the rent.
• The landlord may not request documents outside a legal list (such as a health certificate, a photo of the social security card or a full bank statement).
• Create your file digitally and securely via DossierFacile (a free government service) and you get a certified file with a link.
• And a garant (guarantor) resident in France with an income equal to three times the rent may be requested, or the free Visale guarantee, or a paid guarantor.
• And for newly arrived foreigners with no history a guarantor or an institutional guarantee may be accepted.

Rents vary greatly: in Paris about 25 to 35 euros per square metre a month, in the other big cities 12 to 20, in small towns 8 to 12.

• The rent is subject to control (encadrement des loyers) in Paris, Lille, Lyon, Villeurbanne, Bordeaux, Montpellier and others, so check the maximum.
• The estate agency charges the tenant fees limited by law for visiting the flat, preparing the file, drafting the contract and preparing the inventory (états des lieux) capped at about 12 to 8 euros per square metre depending on the area, and it may not exceed it. As for the security deposit (dépôt de garantie) it is one month's rent without fees for an empty home, and two months for a furnished one, and is returned within one to two months after handing back the keys.
• You also pay the first rent in advance.
• And you are required to take home insurance (assurance habitation) before receiving the keys.
• And do not pay illegal fees.

Rental fraud is common: an advert for a home at a price far below the market, and a landlord abroad requesting the deposit or booking fees before viewing or by sending it via Western Union, Mandat cash, a bank transfer, Transcash vouchers or cryptocurrency, stolen photos, and pressure I have other people.

• Do not pay any sum or send your original documents before viewing the home yourself and verifying the landlord's identity and ownership, and do not pay the deposit until signing the contract and receiving the keys.
• Check that the agency is registered (professional card carte T) and its SIRET number.
• Beware of forged DossierFacile files.
• Report fraud on Perceval or Thésée or to the police (17 or in person), and on signal-arnaques.com.
• And do not send copies of your ID without a watermark (filigrane) in which you state the purpose and date.

The state offers aid: APL (Aide personnalisée au logement) from the family allowance fund CAF pays part of the rent depending on your income and rent, requested via caf.fr after signing the contract, and legally resident foreigners may qualify.

• The Visale guarantee from Action Logement is free for those under 30 or new employees, and guarantees the rent for the landlord.
• And Loca-Pass and deposit loans, and the FSL (Fonds de solidarité pour le logement) at the prefecture.
• As for social housing (HLM) it is requested via demande-logement-social.gouv.fr with a single application that gives you a numéro unique, and you wait months or years depending on the city, and legal residence and an income under a ceiling are required.
• And if you are at risk of homelessness call 115 (the social number) or associations or the SIAO.
• And those who have not got housing despite an eligible application may resort to DALO (droit au logement opposable).

What is DossierFacile?