Bordeaux: Flatshare, an ideal solution for young people?

Roommates in the major cities of France are attracting more and more. This solution allows people who cannot afford to have an apartment or a house alone to live together, sharing the costs. Faced with the soaring prices of rental real estate, especially in these popular cities, shared accommodation seems the most attractive. But how is a flatshare organized for the owner and for the tenants? Are there really only advantages?

Shared accommodation in the face of soaring rents and the scarcity of real estate

In Bordeaux, a student city, finding an apartment is sometimes a difficult mission. Indeed, the studios or T2 are stormed throughout the year, with a peak that coincides with the start of the student year. The latter do not have all the right or the desire to live in student residences, it is necessary to look for an apartment well located, clean, but especially in a reasonable budget. Real estate agencies are asking for more and more guarantees for any rental: a permanent job,a guarantor even for an employee… As well as an income that is up to 3 times that of the rent.

These conditions make it difficult for many students or young employees alone to find housing. Faced with this observation, many then turn to another lifestyle solution: roommates. This way of life allows two or more people to share a home. This makes it possible to find an apartment or a house more spacious than renting alone, but also and above all to divide the rent by the number of people living in the property.

The shared flatshare market in Bordeaux reveals that the metropolis attracts… This complicates the search and especially find a room in the popular area. Indeed, for a room proposal in shared accommodation, there are on average 4.9 requests in Bordeaux. This is much less than in Paris with 8.2 candidates per room offered in shared accommodation… But this is still enough to make it the fourth metropolis where colocation is the most tense. It follows cities like Lyon and Angers with respectively 5, 4 and 5 requests per room.

Under what circumstances do students and young employees turn to roommates? Most often, in order to get closer to their place of study or work. But with the pandemic, teleworking and distance learning courses have occasionally changed these desires for roommates. However, life resumes its normal course, and the demand also returns.

Roommates friendliness
Fewer charges, more user-friendliness: roommates have everything to seduce.

The obligations of the co-tenants and the lessor

To access a flatshare, several possibilities are available to the lessor. The latter can be both a professional lessor, such as a real estate agency or directly an individual. Investment in rental real estate attracts a lot of owners, especially in large cities. With devices such as the Pinel Law, buying to rent, especially in shared accommodation becomes profitable. Especially with the arrival of many new programs in the rehabilitated districts of the metropolis.

The colocation can thus offer a single contract for all the tenants in place. This is usually done when the roommates know each other and build a common file. Rent and responsibilities related to all tenants are shared equitably. In this case, the roommates are solidary in case of problem of payment of rent and must assume the latter, in particular if one of them does not pay or leaves for up to six months. They must then find a new roommate themselves, to replace the one who leaves.

In the other case, the landlord may propose a separate contract for each occupant of the flatshare. This allows everyone to pay their share of the rent, with a price per room, and not on the entire dwelling. Thus, the roommates are not responsible in case of departure of one of the roommates, and the owner is then responsible for finding a new occupant. This does not affect the rent for each of the roommates.

As far as insurance is concerned, roommates can choose to take out a collective or individual one depending on what suits them best. Under separate contracts, each occupant must provide their own room. They nevertheless have the choice between collective or not within the framework of a collective lease. Cheaper for all, the collective contract makes it possible to better cover housing, provided for flatshares.

Sources:

  1. Everything you need to know about roommates and insurance in September 2021! Luko press release published on September 21, 2021
  2. 2020 Colocation Observatory by LocService: figures for the colocation market in France published on 26 August 2020
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