Key takeaways
- The mobility lease (bail mobilité), a short-term furnished rental governed by the law of 6 July 1989 on landlord-tenant relations (loi du 6 juillet 1989), is open in particular to a tenant on a job transfer or on a temporary assignment as part of their professional activity (Article 25-12): it runs for one to ten months (one week to eighteen months in an employment-focused residence, an exception still awaiting a decree according to Service-Public.fr), “non-renewable and non-extendable” (Article 25-14).
- A young workers’ hostel (foyer de jeunes travailleurs) takes people aged 16 to 25, up to 30 in some hostels, who are working or on a path into social and professional integration, according to Service-Public.fr.
- According to ANIL, Action Logement offers employees of private, non-agricultural companies with at least 10 staff temporary housing that can be arranged quickly, subject to conditions.
- On our example rates outside Paris, two nights a week for six months cost about €6,600 in a hotel, about €4,680 in a holiday let and €2,856 in rent under a fixed-days lease.
All quotations from French law and official French sites in this article are our translations; the links go to the French originals.
On Monday you start a six-month assignment in Lyon. You are expected on site three days a week, Monday to Wednesday; the rest of the week, you are at home in Dijon. You need temporary housing for two nights a week only.
Not every temporary housing option in France is open to everyone: some depend on your age or your employer, others set a minimum or a maximum length. By the end of this article, you will know which options you can use and what each one costs over six months. If it is a job transfer, our article on moving for work also covers notice on your current home.
Temporary housing in France: length, nights a week, budget
How long. One week, three months and one year do not call for the same contracts. The mobility lease runs for one to ten months. Kowo’s fixed-days lease runs for at least three months.
How many nights a week. If you go home every Wednesday evening, a home rented seven days a week makes you pay for empty nights. Conversely, if you stay on site the whole month, an option designed for two nights a week will not help.
What budget. It follows from the length and the number of nights, and from who pays: you, or your employer if it covers your housing.
Temporary housing options, one by one
Hotel, aparthotel, holiday let
These are commercial offers. What sets them apart is mostly the length and rhythm of your stay: our comparison aparthotel vs hotel vs pied-à-terre explains when a hotel or an aparthotel makes sense.
The mobility lease (bail mobilité)
The mobility lease is a short-term furnished rental for a tenant who can show, on the date the lease takes effect, that they are, among other cases, in vocational training, higher education, an internship, on a job transfer or on a temporary assignment as part of their professional activity (Article 25-12 of the law of 6 July 1989). It lasts one to ten months, non-renewable (Article 25-14), or one week to eighteen months in an employment-focused residence (résidence à vocation d’emploi), an exception still awaiting a decree according to Service-Public.fr; the details are in our guide to the bail mobilité, France’s mobility lease.
A flatshare (colocation)
Article 8-1 of the law of 6 July 1989 defines a flatshare (colocation) as “the letting of a single dwelling to several tenants, constituting their main residence”, under a single contract or several contracts, except a rental granted only to spouses or civil partners (partenaires de Pacs) at the time the contract is first signed.
A young workers’ hostel (FJT)
If you are between 16 and 25, look here. According to Service-Public.fr, a young workers’ hostel (foyer de jeunes travailleurs, FJT, also called “Habitat jeunes”) takes people aged 16 to 25, and some hostels up to 30 at most. To be admitted, you must be working, for example on a fixed-term or permanent contract, through a temp agency or in seasonal work, or be on a path into social and professional integration.
The hostels offer furnished or unfurnished accommodation and shared spaces. The contract is signed for one month and renewed automatically if you want to stay. The same page says the costs can be covered in whole or in part by the APL or ALS housing benefits if the hostel holds an agreement with the State (conventionné). To apply, you contact the hostel directly; if you do not know one, the town hall can give you their details.
Temporary housing from Action Logement
This one depends on your employer. According to ANIL, Action Logement offers, “for employees of a private non-agricultural company with at least 10 employees, temporary housing that can be arranged quickly, subject to conditions”. If your company qualifies, ask HR as soon as you sign your contract.
Renting on fixed days
That leaves the case from our example: three days on site, two nights, every week. With a fixed-days lease, you come back to the same furnished home on the same days each week (Monday to Wednesday, in your case), and you alone have the use of it on those days. The contract is “governed by Articles 1714 et seq. of the French Civil Code”. Your days stay the same from the first month of the lease to the last: you cannot swap them or add more in between. The lease runs for at least three months, and it can also cover full time, seven days a week.
If other occupants come on the other days, each has their own contract, and occupants are neither jointly liable nor holders of undivided rights with one another. Rent receipts are issued through Stripe and can be used for expense claims. The model is explained in detail in long-term part-time renting, explained.
Six months of temporary housing, with figures
Back to the opening case, over the six months of the assignment: three days on site a week, so two nights. The amounts below are example rates outside Paris, not prices observed in Lyon.
| Option, 2 nights a week | Per month | Over 6 months |
|---|---|---|
| Hotel (based on €125 a night) | about €1,100 | about €6,600 |
| Holiday let | about €780 | about €4,680 |
| Fixed-days lease (rent) | €476 | €2,856 |
€476 a month is €55 a night, two nights a week, over 4.33 weeks.
Against the hotel, the gap is €624 a month (1,100 − 476), so €3,744 over the six months. Against a holiday let, it is €304 a month, or €1,824 over the period.
The page for part-time furnished apartments in Lyon covers the option there. The cities where this is available are on the part-time renting page.
For owners: working people looking for fixed days
A furnished home that sits empty from Monday to Wednesday is what the people in this article are looking for. A fixed-days lease covers those days only; on the other days, you can rent the same home to another occupant. To compare the fixed-days lease with the other ways of renting, see renting out your second home in France.
Checklist before you choose
- Your real number of nights. Count them over a typical month before comparing monthly prices.
- How long you will need it. The fixed-days lease runs for at least three months; the mobility lease has a maximum length.
- Whether you qualify. Age for a young workers’ hostel, the reason for your move for a mobility lease, your employer’s size and sector for Action Logement.
- Your employer’s support. Before you sign, ask what proof it expects.
- How stable your days are. A fixed-days lease assumes the same days for the whole lease; if your schedule changes every week, wait until it settles.
Frequently asked questions
Which temporary housing suits three working days a week in France?
For two nights a week over at least three months, renting on fixed days means paying only for those nights. On our example rates outside Paris, it comes to €476 in rent a month, against about €1,100 in a hotel for the same nights.
Can you get into a young workers’ hostel after 25?
According to Service-Public.fr, young workers’ hostels take people aged 16 to 25, but some hostels accept residents up to 30 at most. You must also be working or on a path into social and professional integration.
Who can get temporary housing through Action Logement?
According to ANIL, Action Logement offers this temporary housing to employees of a private non-agricultural company with at least 10 employees, subject to conditions. So the first condition is about your employer: its sector and its headcount.
The part-time renting section gathers the articles on this model, and our guide mid-term lease or part-time rental helps you choose between the two contracts when your move lasts several months.