The supplementary phase for allocating Crous (Centre régional des œuvres universitaires et scolaires) housing for the 2026-2027 academic year ended on Thursday 29 October, according to the timetable published on etudiant.gouv.fr. It opened to all students on 7 July and was the only phase most international students could access. Since 30 October, the Crous has been allocating rooms as they become free, on a rolling basis, depending on availability.
As a reminder, the Crous is the public body that runs university residences, university restaurants and student grants in France. Its rooms and studios are among the most affordable student housing options: from €200 to €500 a month depending on location.
A 2026 campaign in two phases
The campaign opened on 5 May on trouverunlogement.lescrous.fr with the main phase, run in three rounds until 5 July. Priority went to grant holders, who had to submit a Dossier social étudiant (DSE) before 31 May. According to etudiant.gouv.fr, the vast majority of international students are not eligible to submit this application, so they had to wait for the supplementary phase, from 7 July, to book one of the remaining rooms.
At the end of August, the Crous network published its back-to-school figures: 155,000 students had booked accommodation for 1 September, and applications were up 5% on 2025. Among grant holders at levels 6 and 7 (the highest grant levels, so the lowest incomes) who had applied, 85% received an offer.
No Crous housing: what you can still do
The end of the supplementary phase does not shut the door completely. According to etudiant.gouv.fr, you can still apply on a rolling basis from 30 October: the Crous offers rooms freed up when residents leave or withdraw. There is no waiting list, so what is available depends on the places that come up in your city.
If you are offered a room, the campaign rules apply: a €70 advance payment to confirm, deducted from your first month's rent, then a security deposit of one month's rent and a guarantor, either a person or an organisation such as Visale. If you don't have one in France, our guide Finding a guarantor to rent covers the options open to international students.
Our advice: if you are looking for housing now, don't rely only on a Crous room becoming free. Search outside the Crous at the same time, without waiting for an offer.
Options beyond the Crous
Your school or university may have its own housing, as some grandes écoles do: check with its housing office. In Paris, the Cité internationale universitaire hosts nearly 6,000 students, researchers and artists from all over the world. Lokaviz, the Crous platform, lists housing from private landlords, and Mon Logement Étudiant, a public service, brings together offers at moderate rents.
Our guide Finding student accommodation compares private residences, flatshares and rentals, and the housing section lets you search city by city.
And don't forget: if you are really struggling to find housing, our team of Community Helpers can guide you through the process for free 😉
Sources
- etudiant.gouv.fr – How are rooms in residences allocated?
- Service-Public.fr – How to apply for Crous student housing
- Crous network – Back-to-school brief: Crous student housing
- etudiant.gouv.fr – Housing for international students
- Service-Public.fr – APL withdrawn for non-EU students without a needs-based grant from 1 July 2026
