How to
To rent a single apartment in France, you have to prepare many documents, which could prove your financial status :
– Copy of your passport
– Justificatif de domicile – a proof of residence. Usually, this is a document, issued by Electricity Provider (e.g. EDF) that states that you live in France and have a contract for electricity for a specific address (so obviously you cannot have it). Or it can be a document written and signed by a person at whose place you stay (Attestation d’hébergement)
– Job contract. The important thing to note here is the duration of the contract. If your contract has a duration then it is a CDD (Contrat à durée déterminée), if it does not – it is a CDI (Contrat à durée indéterminée)
– Avis d’imposition conforme – a tax notice. Obviously you don’t have it, since you just arrived to France
– 3 salary slips (which you also probably don’t have since you have just arrived)
In addition, in France you must also have a guarantor – a person who is obliged to pay for your rent in case if you stop paying it. The guarantor also must provide all the same documents that are listed above. As an alternative to a guarantor, you might use this service, but unfortunately only a few owners accept it. Considering that you don’t have most of the documents needed, I strongly suggest to stay either at shared apartment or students residence for the first months.
Places in Marseille
Locations
It is possible to live near the campus, but this area is quite isolated and does not offer much in terms of shops, restaurants, or city life. For a better balance between daily life and commuting, most people prefer to live closer to the city center.
Fromcity center, the daily commute to the campus usually takes 25–35 minutes. The most common route is Metro Line 1 followed by a bus from Malpassé station.
Recommended neighborhoods :
Castellane (6th arrondissement) : A lively district with excellent transport connections (both metro lines and many buses). It has plenty of shops, restaurants, and cafés. The downside is that it can be noisy.
Cinq Avenues (4th arrondissement) : A quieter option, still close to the center and with good access to tram lines and Metro Line 1. It is also slightly closer to the campus than Castellane.
Other good districts include the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 6th arrondissements, which combine convenient transport links with a pleasant living environment.
Areas to avoid :
Some parts of the city are less suitable for newcomers, either because they are hectic or considered unsafe. These include :
3rd arrondissement (Belle de Mai)
Belsunce (1st arrondissement)
Noailles (1st arrondissement, depending on the street)
Ressources
Here are several useful links
https://univ-amu.studapart.com/ – apartments for students in France.
https://www.leboncoin.fr/ – the biggest announcements website in France, which includes single apartment renting from private owners and agencies and shared apartments offers
https://www.lacartedescolocs.fr/ – listings for individual room rentals within shared flats. You can post that you are looking for a room, and property owners will contact you directly as well. (It helps to post in French). You can also message flatmates who have posted what kind of flatmate they are looking for.
https://www.pap.fr/ – apartments for rent from private owners
https://www.locservice.fr/ a service, which allows owners search for tenants. As a tenant you register there, filling your requirements, pay entrance fee (29EUR) and wait for calls from the owners
https://www.bienici.com/ https://www.seloger.com/ – two websites that summarize offers from the agencies. However, most of the agencies do not accept CDD contracts.
http://www.laforet.com/ – the agency, which for sure accepts CDD contracts
https://www.dossierfacile.fr/ – service that allows you to compile and share your documents
http://www.auxitime.com/ – the agency, which for sure accepts CDD contracts
https://www.icima-immobilier.fr one more agency, which for sure accepts CDD contracts