Finding accommodation is not easy and renting can be expensive. However, there are ways of spending less on accommodation.

A studio rather than a 2-room apartment?

If you are a couple, living in a single room can be uncomfortable, but if you are single, it's probably worth asking yourself the question: do you really need that separate room? To pay less, perhaps you can reduce the surface area of your future home, knowing that current arrangements allow you to live very well in a studio apartment, even one of 20 m². However, this solution should be put into perspective, as the rent for a studio apartment is considerably more expensive than that of a one-bedroom apartment for the same floor area.

Heading for the periphery

As you may have noticed, the further away you are from the capital, the cheaper the rent. If you have a car, or if the locality is well served by public transport, do not hesitate to look for accommodation on the outskirts of the city. The neighbouring municipalities may also offer a more pleasant living environment than the hectic atmosphere of the centre.

Long live sharing!

If you are the sociable type, if you are not afraid of living in a community... and if your rental budget is really small, you have the solution of a shared apartment. You can live in a larger space at a lower cost, but you have to share. Besides, the more rooms there are in the accommodation concerned, the less you will have to pay! Three or four seems to be the best compromise.

See also: How to choose a roommate?

And solidarity housing

It is called solidarity or intergenerational housing, and it is growing with the ageing of the population. What is it? A person, usually elderly, rents (and sometimes even lends) part of their home in exchange for a little company and a few services. You will obviously not be asked to take care of a dependent person, and this type of rental is managed by associations.