Our team at Paris Rental wants to help you understand the French rental process along with all the vocabulary. It can be tricky to understand!
Paris Apartments Vocabulary
Renting an apartment in Paris, France introduces you to an entire new set of vocabulary. For an extensive list of terms, view our glossary here.
To start, the term "bedroom" is replaced by the word pièce(s). But, note that pièce(s) refers the the number of habitable rooms in the apartment, not necessarily the number of bedrooms. The living room is considered a habitable room, (so it is a pièce) but the kitchen and bathroom are not quite livable spaces (they are not a pièce). For example, a 1-bedroom apartment would be considered 2 pièces, assuming there is a bedroom, living room, kitchen, and bathroom. A 3 pièces would be the equivalent to a 2-bedroom apartment, with two bedrooms, a living room, etc.
- 1-bedroom = 2 pièces
- 2-bedroom = 3 pièces
- 3-bedroom = 4 pièces
- 4-bedroom = 5 pièces
Our tip: start with the number of bedrooms you will need, then add one to determine the number of pièces.
One more thing! Be careful - sometimes une pièce is called T1, 2 pièces is called T2, etc. Don't ask why!
Converting Between Meters and Feet
France uses meters. Some countries use feet. How do you convert between the two?
It's simple, look!
- 1 meter is approximately 3 feet -- or to be exact: 3,28 ft
- 1 square meter is approximately 10 square feet -- or to be exact: 10,76 sq ft
Here's a quick tip: add a "0" to the square meter dimensions to estimate what that would be in square feet. For example, you have chosen a 30 square meter apartment, that is essentially equal to a 300 square feet apartment.
Still having a tough time doing the calculation? Download the GlobeConvert - Currency Units Converter application for your mobile phone. This app not only converts length and area, but it can help you with all currency and unit conversions.
Surface Area
There are strict surface area laws in Paris. First of all, an apartment can be no less than 9 square meters in surface area. This "surface area comprises all square meters of flooring after subtracting surfaces occupied by walls, partitions, closets, steps, staircases, door and window recesses, verandas, balconies, terraces, basements, unconverted attics, and all portions of the interior with a ceiling height of less that 1,80 meters." To make it simple, the surface area of an apartment or house is calculated by multiplying the length x the width of a room, while removing those exceptions listed above.
General sizes of Parisian apartments:
- Studio: 9-35 m2
- 1-bedroom: 30-70 m2
- 2-bedroom: 50-120 m2
- 3-bedroom: 80-250 m2
- 4-bedroom: 120-300+ m2</p>
What Prices Can I Expect?
In Paris, the estimated average price per square meter is 38€. This number will vary greatly depending on many factors: district/arrondissement, floor, layout of the apartment, amenities included such as a terrace, balcony, parking spot, gardienne/concierge, etc. Studios generally begin at 800 € per month, but it is not uncommon to see studios in the 1 200€ price range. A 1-bedroom can average between 1 000€ - 3 000€ per month. 2-bedroom apartments will move your budget between 2 200€ - 4 500€ in monthly rent. For larger spaces, you should expect rent to be between 3 000€ - 6 000€ for a 3-bedroom and 4 400€ - 12 000€+ for a 4-bedroom+.
For a typical apartment, here is a quick tip: start with a base price between 500€ and 1 000€ and estimate about 1 000€ per additional bedroom. For example, a 1-bedroom may cost 1 500€ so you can assume that a 2-bedroom would have rent in the 2 500€ range.
Now that you are well versed in real estate jargon and have a bit more insight into the market, we hope you find the apartment you are looking for in Paris!
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