In France, there are specialist agencies which assist with the practical difficulties encountered by French expatriates, with correspondents in foreign capitals.

They can help with finding accommodation, engaging services such as telephone or insurance, and with the administrative formalities, such as visas or social security entitlements.

In France only some 25% of accommodation is in the private rented sector, the rest being either owner-occupied (more than 50% of French householders are the owners of their principal residence) or in the social housing sector, intended for low-income households. Larger flats and houses in urban areas are the most difficult to find, while furnished accommodation is scarce. Household equipment, such as cookers, fridges and washing machines, is not normally included.

There are two main ways of finding accommodation:

• Through the press, either in the daily newspapers (such as Le Figaro in Paris, and the regional press elsewhere), or in papers specialising in accommodation (Le Particulier, for example) whose adverts can often also be accessed on the web.
• Through agencies which charge for their services. Addresses are available from the FNAIM, the national association of property agents.

The rights and obligations of landlord and tenant are highly regulated. Insurance on the premises is obligatory, and must be taken out by the tenant. Local taxes are levied on property.

The offices maintained in each département by the ANIL, a national agency responsible to the government, provide legal and practical information on house-purchase, mortgages and rental. The ANIL does not however provide any assistance with the search for accommodation.

To know more:

http://www.anil.org for legal and practical information on housing and property, and for the addresses of its regional offices;

http://www.fnaim.fr for the addresses of property agents;

http://www.pap.fr for classified ads (10 to 25 thousand ads per week across France.