Agata Nowicka
“Paris is not made for single people. Alone, you will never find anything. Go to Leroy-Merlin or Tinder, but find yourself a partner!” Marine, a 28-year-old developer earning a monthly salary of 2,700 euros, couldn’t believe it when a real estate agent lectured her on how to find housing more easily in the capital. It took her four months to find a decent place in Courbevoie (Hauts-de-Seine) on her own, as she couldn’t find anything within Paris city limits.
The access conditions imposed by landlords are particularly unfavorable to young people. “Demanding large deposits, several months’ rent in advance… The deterioration of entryways for young people into the job market, with the rise of precarious contracts, increases landlords’ demands, making young people more vulnerable when it comes to independent housing access,” explains sociologist Emmanuelle Maunaye, a specialist in the evolution of migrations and social integration of youth. In Paris and the inner suburbs, a real estate agent can receive up to 300 responses within a few hours to an online listing, as the market is congested. In this context, it’s hard not to consider pooling expenses.
Lola (who chose to remain anonymous), a 23-year-old independent journalist, recently realized she could improve her comfort by moving in with her partner. While she lived alone in a sort of “garden shed” in the 14th arrondissement of Paris, her partner of four years left his 9-square-meter maid’s room in the 16th arrondissement, with a rent of 600 euros per month, to join her. In a period of rising prices, Lola discovered the “luxury” of sharing the expenses of her 18-square-meter apartment with a mezzanine (900 euros per month) and splitting the bills and groceries. Since then, the couple has found a much more comfortable two-bedroom apartment in Boulogne-Billancourt (Hauts-de-Seine): “It was either live together or live an hour away from Paris!”
Lola recalls thinking carefully before deciding to live with her partner, having seen many couples break up after moving in together: “I’ve seen them separate with bailiffs and police, it’s scary!” If she and her partner had a choice, maybe they would have stayed on their own a little longer. This legally trained individual fears that in case of a breakup, she will lose quality of life and have to give up her Parisian lifestyle.
