In 2025, students have never found it so difficult to find accommodation in Nice. Faced with a shortage of small accommodations, the rental market in Nice is under severe strain. And while solutions exist, the problem remains the same: there are more seekers than available properties to rent.
One in three students looking for accommodation in the PACA region is looking in Nice. This data confirms the attractiveness of the Nice area for students. Yet, the rental market in Nice is under tension and is amidst numerous uncertainties, particularly concerning student housing. This situation worsened in 2025, pushing many students into crisis. Demand has surpassed supply.
Students in Crisis
“Honestly, it’s complicated to find accommodation. I would have liked to change between my two years, for example, because I have connectivity issues in my current apartment. But it’s so hard to find that I resigned myself to staying in this accommodation. I’m avoiding all those problems,” laments Maxime, 22 years old, a Master’s student. The student housing crisis hasn’t just hindered young people in their searches. It has discouraged them.
“For the past few weeks, we’ve had many students and parents calling us to find accommodation. Every year, it increases,” explains Benjamin Mondou, president of Century 21 Lafage Transactions. In addition to this strong demand growth, Nice has established itself as one of the most expensive cities concerning the average rent for a studio: on average 675 euros. By comparison, the average in Marseille is 558 euros. For a student, finding accommodation in the Nice metropolis at a reasonable price is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Even though the metropolis has recently organized meetings to help students find housing.
A Shortage of Small Apartments
The main issue for students comes from one-room apartments, known as T1. Indeed, according to a study conducted by LocService.fr, 65% of students in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region request T1 housing. It’s problematic because these one-room apartments have become scarce on the market.
Benjamin Mondou highlights this problem. “If efforts had been made in constructing small apartments since these are primarily what are sought after, we wouldn’t have such significant tension. There is a general shortage but especially concerning small accommodations, that’s where the problem lies,” he explains. A crisis in the small apartments market, and much more.
The Nice Rental Market Under Heavy Tension
The entire Nice real estate sector is affected. “The only region in France where property prices haven’t dropped is here. We have no available land, so we can’t build anymore. It’s a stagnated area. So we can see that for students, finding housing has become extremely difficult,” explains Benjamin Mondou.
Market tension is illustrated by the study published by LocService. It measured a tension score (ratio between the number of demands and rental offers) of 7.5 this year, compared to 3.08 last year. This is an increase of 3.5 points in just one year. Ivan Thiébault, data analyst at LocService.fr, explains the factors that have drastically increased this tension.
“There is strong attractiveness in terms of educational offers. Moreover, there’s certainly an attraction to the city itself. This generates very high demand. One in three students wants to reside in Nice, but there’s a housing shortage at the same time. There’s also increasingly difficult regulation for property owners, encompassing thermal standards and G-rated apartments, which are now prohibited for rent. This removes properties from the market. We witnessed the end of the Pinel scheme at the end of 2024, deterring people from investing, resulting in fewer constructions. Not to mention the competition with Airbnb accommodations, which is problematic in Nice as it is a sought-after city for tourist rentals. All these factors contribute to the strong tension in Nice,” explains the expert.
An alarming finding with students hit hard by this supply imbalance. But perhaps there is a silver lining. Benjamin Mondou nuances the issue of scarcity. “Since the beginning of 2025, I’ve noticed investors returning to invest in real estate, seeking long-term rentals with lower profitability but safer investments,” he analyzes.
Mixed Renting: The Miracle Solution?
To counter the real estate market tension, the Nice town hall has implemented a mixed renting scheme. A mechanism allowing property owners to rent their property to a student during the academic year and a tourist for the three summer months. Early June, Anthony Borré, first deputy mayor, reviewed this scheme: “since 2021, it has gained momentum. 142 accommodations have been provided to students under the mixed renting scheme. It has succeeded! 142 accommodations represent a student residence in itself,” he explained.
A genuine solution to house students amid market tension according to Benjamin Mondou, who witnesses the phenomenon firsthand. “Mixed renting works well. When we do a bit of education and explain to property owners that they can earn income in the summer but, in return, accommodate our students. This scheme offers a real solution; there’s nothing worse than having parents call us for their children and responding that we have no accommodations. It’s terrible and frustrating.”
How Can Students Approach This?
Act as soon as possible. The advice may seem naive, but that’s the core issue: “the demand peak correlates very precisely with the Parcoursup admission phase. We see it in Google search trends. There’s a peak at this precise moment,” warns Benjamin Mondou. Early June, everything takes off. For students looking for accommodation for September, they should start in June, “even if it means paying rent in advance, although that’s not easy for everyone,” adds the real estate agent. The price to pay to secure accommodation for the start of the school year.
The concerned student must also be capable of presenting their rental application immediately, in case they find something. Property owners want to review documents as soon as possible, hence the need to prepare the application before beginning the search, not afterward. “Therefore, finding a guarantor quickly is essential: parents or Visale. Knowing that Visale is quite advantageous because it’s open to all young people, free, and reassuring for property owners because it protects against unpaid rent and possible damages to the apartment,” explains Benjamin Mondou.
However, beware of scams that are spreading. Especially in Nice and its surroundings. “There’s a real correlation between tension zones and areas where scams occur,” states Ivan Thiébault. The data analyst shares some tips to avoid falling into traps: “be wary of offers that seem too good to be true. And of all landlords requesting money to be sent before even visiting the property. Especially when these involve unconventional payment methods.” In short, if an owner asks for money, refuse. Especially if the request is for cash.
In a saturated market, it’s essential to arm oneself with patience. That’s the price to pay before being able to settle in.
