Furnished or unfurnished student France: what a furnished flat legally includes, what you'll still need to buy, and why furnished almost always wins for Erasmus.
For an Erasmus or exchange student, a furnished flat is almost always the right call: you arrive with a suitcase, not a removal van, and by law a furnished let must contain enough to sleep, cook and live in from your very first evening. An unfurnished flat means buying everything (bed, fridge, table, hob…) for a stay of just a few months — a financial and logistical non-starter. This guide is the PRACTICAL view: what a furnished flat actually includes, what's often missing that you'll have to buy, and the comfort/cost/time trade-off depending on whether you stay one semester or a full year. For the contract side (lease lengths, deposit caps), we point you to our dedicated guide.
Furnished or unfurnished: the real day-to-day difference
On paper the difference looks obvious: furnished has furniture, unfurnished doesn't. But for an international student the real stake lies elsewhere. It's logistical and financial.
When you arrive from abroad, you have no car, no local network and no time to trawl furniture shops in your first week. A furnished flat lets you live from day one: you sleep, you cook, you drop your bags. An unfurnished flat forces you to buy (or hire) all the equipment — then get rid of it when you leave. For a 5-to-10-month stay, the maths tips heavily towards furnished.
The legal side (lease length, deposit amount, notice period) also differs between furnished (meublé) and unfurnished (vide), but we won't cover it here: it's all explained in our guide to the student tenancy lease in France. This article stays practical.
What the law requires in a furnished flat: the list of 11 items
A flat can't call itself "furnished" with just a bed. French law sets a minimum list of equipment via Decree No. 2015-981 of 31 July 2015. If any of these 11 items is missing, the tenant can ask a judge to reclassify the lease as an unfurnished let (service-public.gouv.fr).
| # | Mandatory item | What it means in practice |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bedding with duvet or blanket | A bed + something to cover yourself (not just a bed base) |
| 2 | Window blackout in bedrooms | Shutters, blinds or blackout curtains in the bedroom |
| 3 | Hob | Something to heat and cook on (gas, electric or induction) |
| 4 | Oven or microwave | At least one of the two |
| 5 | Fridge and freezer | Or at minimum a fridge with a compartment at ≤ -6 °C |
| 6 | Crockery for meals | Plates, glasses, cutlery in sufficient quantity |
| 7 | Kitchen utensils | Pans, frying pan, knives… |
| 8 | Table and seating | Something to eat at and sit on |
| 9 | Storage shelving | Somewhere to put your things |
| 10 | Light fittings | Lighting in the rooms |
| 11 | Suitable cleaning equipment | Broom, mop… as appropriate to the flat |
That's the legal minimum. A serious furnished let will often go further (sofa, desk, washing machine), but nothing obliges it to beyond these 11 points.
What's often missing (and you'll have to buy)
The legal list covers the essentials, not comfort. Here's what is not required and a furnished flat may well not provide:
- Bed linen (sheets, duvet cover, pillowcases) and towels: often absent, budget for them.
- Washing machine: not on the list. Many studios don't have one — scout the local launderette.
- Microwave AND oven: the law only requires one. If you want both, check.
- Wifi / internet: rarely included outside a private residence; you'll set it up yourself.
- Vacuum cleaner, iron, cleaning products beyond the bare minimum.
- Décor, cushions, a desk lamp: making it feel like home is on you.
The right reflex: insist on a written, detailed inventory at move-in (the furniture condition report, état des lieux du mobilier). It lists what's provided and its condition — your protection for getting your security deposit back on the way out. We explain how in our inventory guide.
The comfort / cost / time trade-off by length of stay
The real call depends on how long you're staying.
| Your situation | Furnished | Unfurnished |
|---|---|---|
| One semester (5-6 months) | Obvious. You live from day 1, nothing to buy, nothing to resell. | Absurd: you kit out a whole flat to leave 5 months later. |
| One year (9-12 months) | Still comfortable and hassle-free. Slightly higher rent, but zero big purchases. | Doable if you find second-hand furniture — but time + the pain of reselling on the way out. |
| Two years and more | Still practical, especially with no local network. | Can pay off if you're settling long term. |
Yes, a furnished place does rent for slightly more per square metre than unfurnished. But for an international student on a short stay, that premium is far lower than the cost of kitting out then emptying a flat — never mind the wasted time and stress. For nearly every Erasmus student, furnished wins.
FAQ — Furnished or unfurnished for students
What exactly must a furnished flat contain? At minimum the 11 items of Decree No. 2015-981: bedding with a duvet, bedroom window blackout, a hob, an oven or microwave, a fridge with freezer (or a compartment at ≤ -6 °C), crockery, utensils, a table and seating, shelving, light fittings, and cleaning equipment. If an item is missing, the lease can be reclassified as unfurnished.
Are bed linen and internet provided in a furnished flat? Not necessarily. Sheets, towels, wifi and a washing machine are not on the legal list. Check the inventory before signing and plan to fill the gaps.
Furnished or unfurnished for Erasmus — which should I pick? Furnished, almost always. For a stay of a few months, kitting out an unfurnished flat then emptying it makes no financial or logistical sense. Furnished lets you live from your first evening.
Is furnished more expensive than unfurnished? Yes, slightly more per square metre. But that premium stays well below the cost of buying all the equipment for a short stay, and it spares you the time and headache of reselling when you leave.
What's the lease difference between furnished and unfurnished? Lease lengths, notice periods and the deposit cap differ between furnished and unfurnished. We cover it all in our student tenancy lease guide.
For an exchange, the debate is quickly settled: furnished saves you time, money and a lot of stress. Just check the inventory at move-in, add your own linen and internet, and keep a written record for your security deposit. Before signing, reread our student tenancy lease guide and, if you're still torn on the type of place, our CROUS vs private housing comparison. Follow our Bordeaux settling-in guide step by step. Ready to move in? Find verified furnished student flats in Bordeaux on Studroof.
This article is informational and does not replace official sources. Always check the current list and rules on service-public.gouv.fr and legifrance.gouv.fr. Last updated: July 2026.