Endless romance, haute couture, café culture and exquisite patisseries are all synonymous with Paris but clichés aside, the capital of France remains a prestigious location in which to work and live.
Paris is a northern central city on the banks of the River Seine, with fantastic connections to the rest of Europe – and the world – by air, rail, road and sea. It is the most populated city in France, with over 2 million inhabitants in the centre alone and almost 11 million in the wider Région Parisienne. The city is divided into 20 districts, known as arrondissements, with the underground ‘Metro’ and RER express commuter trains serving the inner-city neighbourhoods and banlieus – the Parisian suburbs.
Paris’s central position in Europe has lured the OECD, the International Chamber of Commerce & Industry and UNESCO to set up main offices in the city and if all goes to plan, Paris will host the 2024 summer Olympics, creating a wealth of work and leisure opportunities.
With Europe’s highest concentration of Fortune 500 corporations, according to Forglobal, employment prospects in Paris are good – excellent for those who speak French. Some of the biggest employers include BNP Paribas, Societe Generale, Groupe BPCE, LVMH, Groupe Credit Agricole, AXA, Engie, L’Oreal and Bouygues Group.
As well as established and traditional companies, Paris is a hotspot for research, development and innovation. Forglobal’s supporting stats are impressive, reporting that Paris: is the number one region for developing start-ups in Western Europe; will feature 230,000 sqm of incubator space by the end of 2021; is already home to seven ‘competitiveness clusters’; supports over 10,000 start-ups and credits its 100,000 researchers for the highest number of high-tech patents filed.
As a result of the urban concentration, employment prospects and ease of mobility, the Paris rental market moves quickly – with decisions often required within 24-hours of finding a property. While reservations have to be made without delay, landlord decisions can be slow – up to 10 days to confirm who has secured the tenancy. Once agreed, the tenant will need insurance in the shape of ‘General Tenancy Insurance cover with Liability Insurance’. This is a mandatory requirement in France and an agent will not hand over the keys until they have seen this insurance certificate.
There is another, almost compulsory requirement when renting in Paris – the tenant needs to earn at least 3 times (net of charges) the amount of rent being charged and they must not be in an employers’ probationary period.
Thankfully there are workarounds, as the probationary aspect can be unavoidable for those relocating for a new job. These can come in the form of financial guarantees for the company hiring the tenant or proof of funds held in a French bank account equivalent to one year’s worth of rent. For these reasons, our agents in Paris advise the lease is taken out in the company’s name – a facet made much easier if the company has an office registered in France.
Relocators will find both furnished and unfurnished properties available to rent in Paris but it’s worth reading the small print when it comes to the length of the leases – they can be as long as six years when dealing with a corporate landlord. The good news is most Paris lets require only a month’s notice from the tenant to quit. The bad news? Rental values are high and many tenants spend half their monthly wage on rent.
When it comes to arrondissements, Bourse finds favour with professionals as it’s close to Paris’s business district. Temple, Passy, Batignolles-Monceau, Observatoire, Vaugirard, Gobelins and Porte d’Italie are also high on the relocation list for their blend of cultural assets, restaurants, commutability and access to Paris’s best facilities. There’s also the Left and Right divide of the Seine to consider – Rive Gauche tends to be the more creative and bohemian, and Rive Droite the more sophisticated and grown-up. In terms of Paris suburbs, our agents find Saint Germain-en-Laye, Saint Cloud, Issy-les-Moulineaux and Sèvres are popular with families.
Rental values range from approximately €2,300 pcm (per calendar month) for a two-bedroom apartment in the Opéra arrondissement; €1,800 pcm in Louvre and €1,600 pcm in Hôtel de Ville, to €1,500 pcm in Panthéon, €1,400 pcm in Vaugirard and from €1,200 pcm in Saint-Laurent.
Once settled, there is much to enjoy in Paris – apéro (happy hour), over 100 Michelin-starred restaurants and cultural riches that are hard to match anywhere in the world.
If relocating to Paris is in your professional plans, get in touch with us to see how we can help you.
