400 calls for 20 m²: in Paris, finding a rental has become an ordeal

I'm only talking about the Parisian rental market here, the one I deal with every day on the ground. Not the provinces, not national statistics. Just Paris, and what I actually see.

Today, renting out a 20 m² studio in certain areas, such as the 11th arrondissement of Paris, can generate 300 to 400 calls in the same afternoon.

Sometimes the calls continue until 2 or 3 in the morning. At that point, it's no longer normal demand, it's saturation.

In fact, many real estate agents don't even put the listings online anymore.

Not as a strategy, but because it's unmanageable. Properties are rented before being advertised, via internal lists or word of mouth.

When an apartment no longer even needs to be visible to be rented, it means that the Parisian rental market is no longer functioning normally.

Tenants who remain tenants, unable to buy

The first reason is well known: buying has become very complicated.

With rising interest rates, many people can no longer borrow. Others could buy, but are giving up: monthly payments too high, down payment too large, job insecurity, fear of making a big commitment.

As a result, people who would have bought a home a few years ago are still renting, sometimes by default. They stay in their homes longer, which significantly reduces turnover.

And in many cases in Paris, buying is now more expensive than renting. So even people with solid financial profiles prefer to remain tenants.

A changing society… and one that is increasing the pressure

There is also a social reality that is often underestimated.

There are more single people, more separations, fewer stable couples, and fewer children. With an equivalent population, this means more households, and therefore more housing is needed, especially smaller units.

The Parisian housing stock was never designed to absorb this evolution.

A rental supply that is disappearing

On the other side, the supply is decreasing.

Between rent control, rising property taxes, regulatory constraints and especially the issue of the DPE (Energy Performance Diagnosis), many owners are withdrawing their properties from the market.

The G-rated apartments have already been vacated. The F-rated apartments will follow. For some landlords, the renovations are too expensive, too extensive, or technically impossible. They are selling or stopping rentals.

Less supply, more demand: the tension is becoming extreme.

Applications far exceeding usual standards

What is striking today is the quality of the files.

Most of those I receive are far above the classic criteria: income 3, 4, sometimes 5 or even 10 times the rent, significant savings, solid guarantors, often from very comfortable backgrounds.

And despite that, they are all in competition.

When such privileged profiles struggle to rent 20 m², it means one simple thing: for the “average” population, and even more so for people in difficulty, access to housing becomes almost impossible.

Excessive mistrust, guarantees, and controls

Paradoxically, this over-solvency does not reassure the owners.

On the contrary, we are seeing an explosion in requests for rent guarantee insurance (GLI).

In an environment perceived as anxiety-inducing, with taxation, rules, and risks of non-payment, landlords are protecting themselves as much as possible.

Under pressure, some candidates lie or falsify their applications. In response, the requirements skyrocket: payslips, contracts, tax returns, front and back copies of identity documents, cover letters, complete guarantor files, proof of previous rentals.

And above all, everything is checked, sometimes several times.

Today, a large part of the work consists of checking, cross-referencing, and confirming. Trust has disappeared.

When looking for accommodation becomes humiliating

On the ground, this leads to some confusing scenes.

The candidates, impeccably dressed and stressed, arrive as if for a job interview. Some come with fictitious “parents” or “spouses.” Others try to pay more, circumvent the rules, or even resort to bribes.

These are not opportunistic behaviors.

These are fear-based behaviors.

The fear of not finding housing.