Incoming students

CROUS (Student social services)

Each incoming Erasmus or international student is entitled to apply for accommodation in a student hall of residence during the period of his/her stay in France. CROUS also offers larger rooms in private halls of residence, but you should note that when applying for one of these rooms, you have to commit yourself to paying for the whole year.

To apply for a room in a student hall of residence and if you are an Erasmus student, please complete the accommodation form which you will find on the Website of University of Lorraine how to apply.

Return it to the Direction des Relations Internationales, which will then transfer your request to CROUS. It is very important to write your e-mail address legibly on the form, because the CROUS will first contact you by e-mail.

Very important! The closest halls of residence to IUT are:

• Médreville (bedroom from €177.60 to €267; studio €348.60)
• Aristide Briand (one bedroom flat from €309.51) (2013-14)

But other halls of residence are also available. You will find information on all CROUS accommodation.

N.B. If you are allocated a room in a hall of residence by CROUS, please note that:

CROUS closes at 7pm on weekdays (4pm in August), and is closed every week-end. As you cannot get the keys of your room outside opening hours, you should try to arrive before 7pm on a weekday. If you cannot manage to do so, book a room in a hotel, talk to your IUT tutor or to ESN members to find a solution.

Upon arrival, you will be asked to present the following papers:

• A guarantee written and signed by someone working and living in France or in the European Union, with supporting documents, such as copies of wage slips, and a recent proof of address: a person who is attached to an Embassy or is working for an international organisation cannot be a guarantor. If you cannot find a guarantor, you can be admitted to hall of residence by paying nine months rent and the deposit.
• Two insurance certificates: ‘tenant’s home insurance’ and ‘third-party liability Insurance’

Private accommodation

If you wish to live in your own apartment, we recommend you to have a look at the information given by the CRIJ Lorraine (you can find here all the useful addresses that you need to rent a flat in Nancy)

How to get a housing grant

Depending on the type of accommodation you have in France, you may be eligible for a rent allowance. Student residences, for instance, are eligible for such an allowance. It is paid by CAF (Caisse d’Allocations Familiales), whose offices are at 21 Rue St. Lambert in Nancy.

You must first, though, ask your landlord to fill in his/her part of the application. (Your landlord is CROUS if you live in a hall of residence.) Bring details of your bank account – known as RIB in France – with you also: you get this when you open an account, or you can get a RIB print-out from your bank’s ATM.

CAF pays your allowance into your bank account after you have lived two months in your rented accommodation. Each payment is made in the middle of the following month for the previous one (e.g. payment in mid-June for the month of May).

The housing allowance does not depend on your nationality, and it’s very important to ask for it as soon as you move into your accommodation.