Before I moved to Bordeaux, I assumed renting in France would work roughly like renting in Melbourne. Find a place online, apply, sign a lease, move in. In reality, the process has its own vocabulary, its own paperwork and a few rules that surprised me, some of them in a good way.
I've now rented two rooms here, both found through Studapart, and I've learnt a lot along the way. This is the guide I wish I'd read before I started scrolling listings from the other side of the world.
Where to look for a place
The first thing you'll notice is just how many real estate agencies there are. Every neighbourhood seems to have several, and each one has its own listings, its own fees and its own process. Going agency to agency is slow, especially when you're still in Australia or only just off the plane.
That's why I started with the online platforms instead. Studapart is the one I used to find both of my rooms. It's built for students and young people, the listings are checked, you can apply and book entirely online from overseas, and payments go through the platform rather than straight to a stranger. For someone arriving from Australia, that last part was a big relief.
Other places people commonly search include Leboncoin (France's big classifieds site), La Carte des Colocs for share houses, and local Facebook groups for Bordeaux flatshares. They can have great finds, but be more careful there, because that's where scams tend to appear.
Scam check: never send money for a place you haven't seen (in person or on a live video call) and don't pay anything before you have a written lease. If a deal looks too good for Bordeaux, it usually is.
Renting a room: how French share houses work
If you're coming to study or on a working holiday, there's a good chance you'll rent a room rather than a whole flat. This is called a colocation, and it works differently from what most of us know from home.
You can rent just your room, on your own lease. Many share houses use an individual lease for each room. That means your rent is your rent: it doesn't change when housemates move in or out, and you're not responsible for someone else's share if they leave. Some share houses use one lease for everyone instead, often with a "solidarity clause" that makes each tenant responsible for the whole rent, so always check which type you're signing.
Rooms almost always come furnished. Finding an unfurnished room in a share house is unusual. Furnished generally means the basics are there, like a bed, somewhere to store your things and an equipped shared kitchen, which makes arriving with one suitcase completely doable.
The dossier: what landlords expect to see
In France you apply for a rental with a dossier, a bundle of documents that proves who you are and that you can pay. The types of documents a landlord is allowed to ask for are set by law. Expect to be asked for:
- ID: your passport, plus your visa or residence permit.
- Proof of what you're doing in France: for students, your enrolment certificate or acceptance letter; for workers, a contract or job offer.
- Proof of income or funds: payslips, a scholarship letter, or proof of savings.
- A guarantor: someone who will pay if you can't (more on this below).
- Your current address: sometimes asked for, which can be awkward when you're still in Australia.
Have everything scanned as PDFs and ready to send before you start applying. Good rooms in Bordeaux go quickly, especially around September, and the first complete dossier often wins.
The guarantor problem (and how to solve it)
This is the step that catches most Australians out. French landlords almost always want a garant, a guarantor living in France who earns enough to cover your rent. Most of us simply don't have one.
The good news is there are two common ways around it:
- Visale: a free rental guarantee from the French organisation Action Logement. It's open to people aged 18 to 30, including foreign students with a valid visa, and it covers unpaid rent for the landlord. You apply online and get a certificate to add to your dossier.
- Platform guarantees: Studapart offers its own guarantee service for tenants who don't have a French guarantor, which is part of why it works so well for international students.
What it costs up front
Budget for more than your first month's rent. For a furnished place, expect:
- Security deposit: up to two months' rent (excluding charges) for a furnished rental.
- First month's rent, often paid on signing.
- Agency or platform fees, if you go through one. Agency fees for tenants are capped by law.
- Home insurance (assurance habitation). Almost every lease asks you to have it, and it's usually only a few euros a month for a room.
Bordeaux also has rent control (encadrement des loyers), which has set maximum reference rents since July 2022. If a rent looks very high for the size of the room, it's worth checking it against the official reference rents on the Bordeaux Métropole website.
Your rights as a tenant
Moving out is easy. On a furnished lease, you only need to give one month's notice, at any time and without giving a reason. Compared with breaking a lease at home, this makes moving house in France surprisingly flexible. Your notice needs to be in writing, sent by registered letter or handed over in person with a signed receipt. A text or email isn't enough.
Lease length: a standard furnished lease runs for one year, and there's also a nine-month student lease that matches the university year.
The inventory: when you move in and out, you and the landlord complete an état des lieux, a room-by-room check of the condition of the place. Take your time, note every mark and take photos. It's what your deposit depends on.
Getting your deposit back: the landlord has one month to return it if nothing has changed, or two months if there are deductions, counted from when you hand back the keys.
Housing aid: a big change in 2026
Many guides still say international students can get rent assistance (APL) from the CAF. From 1 July 2026, that changed: students from outside the EU who don't hold a scholarship are no longer eligible. As Australians, most of us fall into that group, so don't count on APL when you set your budget. If you have a French government scholarship or another type of visa, check your own situation with the CAF simulator.
What I'd tell myself before my first search
Start with a platform, not the agencies. Studapart made finding my first two rooms so much easier than working through agency after agency, and I could do it all online.
Get your dossier ready before you look. Have every document scanned and waiting so you can apply the moment you find something you like.
Read the lease type. An individual lease for your room gives you the most freedom, and with one month's notice you're never stuck if a house doesn't work out.
Rental rules, fees and housing aid change often. This guide is general information based on my own experience and official sources as of September 2026, not legal advice. Check the details on service-public.fr and with your landlord or platform before you sign anything.