Paris

Paris faces a chronic housing crisis marked by high costs, a shortage of affordable units, and a sharp disparity between supply and demand. The volume of rental listings had dropped by over 50% in the past three years, with 2025 only seeing a modest recovery in available rental properties. Prices remain extreme: for the cost of a small Paris studio, you could rent a much larger apartment elsewhere in France. Residents spend a notably high proportion of income on housing, with Paris rentals costing 164% more per square meter than other French cities. Construction of new housing continues to decline, reaching near historic lows due to higher costs, economic uncertainty, and stringent regulations. The crisis is felt intensely by tenants, with students, young workers, lower-income families, and even middle-income earners struggling to secure accommodation. International employees, students, and artists are also heavily impacted. While social housing makes up over 23% of Paris’s housing stock, the demand is so high that many eligible residents remain on waitlists for years. The boom in short-term rentals, especially via platforms like Airbnb, has further reduced the stock of long-term affordable housing, contributing to the ongoing scarcity, driving rents up, and intensifying competition for the limited supply.

The Paris housing market in 2025 is stabilizing after recent price declines and a very tight rental market. Around 65% of Parisians rent their homes, with the remaining 35% owning, making Paris one of the most renter-dominated major cities in Europe. The latest figures put the median price to buy an apartment in Paris at about 9,350 to 9,420 euros per square meter, following a nearly 10% fall over two years. Median rents are above 35 euros per square meter monthly for apartments, especially for furnished rentals, which are highly sought after.

Publicly owned and social housing play a central role. In Paris, about 21-23% of housing stock is classified as social housing, surpassing France’s national legal target of 25%. Social housing (logement social or HLM – Habitations à Loyer Modéré) is provided through a mix of public, semi-public, and non-profit agencies and is aimed at low- and moderate-income households. In local context, the terms “public housing” and “social housing” are effectively synonymous, both referring to subsidized rental units controlled or overseen by public authorities.

Public agencies and city policy strongly influence what gets built and where, using a combination of direct ownership and partnerships to expand affordable housing. Social housing is well-integrated into many neighborhoods, not relegated to isolated blocks, and construction remains a high political priority in Paris, even as funding challenges persist.

The Paris city administration is pursuing an ambitious housing strategy centered on expanding affordable and sustainable housing. The city recently set a target to raise the share of social (public) housing to 40% of primary residences by 2035, with about 30% of new units allocated to low-income households and 10% to middle-income groups. A key policy lever is “pre-emption deals,” where the city intervenes in private real estate transactions to acquire properties and convert them into social housing. Paris is also converting non-residential sites—such as offices, parking lots, and vacant government buildings—into housing, and labeling hundreds of structures as candidates for expropriation.

To address sustainability, Paris prioritizes energy-efficient renovations and mixed-use developments. New policies require developers and office owners to include substantial social housing in all major projects and mandate green building standards. The city’s annual housing budget is around 800 million euros, focusing on long-term financing for sustainable, affordable construction. Large-scale projects are often financed through partnerships, such as recent green bonds with EU support.

Complementing construction, the APL housing assistance program continues to provide rent relief to students, young workers, and low-income renters. Through these tools, Paris aims to ensure inclusive access while supporting environmental objectives and social diversity.