Back-to-School Season: Furnished Housing Is Down 24%, and Insurance Premiums Are Up 7%
By cross-referencing their data, LeLynx.fr and Lodgis paint a picture of a tight student housing market for the start of the 2026 school year: fewer listings, rising rents, and increasing home insurance costs, with significant disparities from city to city.
For hundreds of thousands of students, summer is no longer vacation season but rather the time to hunt for housing. The peak in student rentals and home insurance comparisons—long observed in September—has shifted to August since 2023. This is a sign of a tight market, where securing a place to live before the start of the school year has become a race against time. According to Lodgis, the number of available furnished apartments fell by 24% between 2024 and 2025, a decline largely driven by the Île-de-France region, while inventory in other regions remains generally stable.
This shortage of supply is driving rents upward. The average rent per square meter for furnished student rentals rose by 1.9% between the second half of 2024 and the second half of 2025. This is also due to a slowdown in lease renewals: the share of studio apartments and one-bedroom units rented by students fell by 2.6 percentage points, in favor of larger apartments. As tenants are staying longer, fewer small units are becoming available, which is driving more students toward shared housing in units with two or more bedrooms.
From Paris to Rennes, widely varying budgets
The differences between cities are considerable. In terms of rent, the price per square meter for furnished student housing is 22.76 euros in Aix-en-Provence, 20.87 euros in Lyon, 16.90 euros in Bordeaux, 16.34 euros in Toulouse, and 16.20 euros in Montpellier, compared to an average of 39.70 euros in the Île-de-France region. Living spaces vary just as much: Paris has the smallest in the sample, averaging 28.7 square meters—far below the 44.4 square meters in Lyon, 42.3 in Lille, 41.2 in Bordeaux, 38.1 in Toulouse, 37.7 in Nice, and 35.5 in Rennes. On a tight budget, a student in Paris therefore lives in a space half the size of that of a student in Lyon.
Home insurance follows the same pattern. In 2025, the average student premium will be 98 euros in Nice, 94 euros in Marseille, and 93 euros in Paris, compared with 56 euros in Rennes. When calculated per square meter, the difference widens even further: Paris tops the list at 3.23 euros, followed by Nice at 2.64 euros and Marseille at 2.52 euros, while Rennes comes in at 1.69 euros. Insurance thus costs nearly twice as much per square meter in the capital as it does in Rennes. This is due to the small size of Parisian apartments: since part of the premium is based on fixed contract terms, the cost per square meter automatically rises for smaller spaces.
Price is the only guiding factor for nearly one in two students
This double expense—rent and insurance—comes at the worst possible time for student budgets. Moving into a new place means dealing with the security deposit, furnishings, moving expenses, and the first insurance premium—all within a few weeks—and insurance is essential for moving in. This drives the search for quick and accessible online solutions, as well as a greater price sensitivity than among the rest of the population, prompting a growing number of students to compare offers before signing a contract.
Faced with these expenses, students prioritize price above all else. In 2025, 45% of them chose the least expensive insurance plan, compared with 35% of other demographic groups. The average student premium stood at 86 euros, up 7% year-over-year, with a projected 8% increase for 2026 to date. However, it remains half that of other policyholders—€176—due to smaller living spaces and more modest assets: 72% of students report less than €5,000 in property to insure, compared with 38% of other groups, for homes averaging 39 square meters versus 75.
This focus on price has its limits. The most affordable plans sometimes include higher deductibles or exclude coverage for things like theft, resulting in significant out-of-pocket costs in the event of a claim. “Price shouldn’t be the only criterion: a very affordable plan may have high deductibles or exclude certain important types of coverage,” warns Arthur Martiano, CEO of LeLynx.fr. At Lodgis, General Counsel Chrystelle Afeiche points out the existence of specialized leases, such as the student primary residence lease or the mobility lease, designed to facilitate access to housing for customers on a tight budget.
