The finest application contest Paris has known was staged in the 9th, and flatshare apartment requests still compete there in the same spirit: on 31 January 1861, one hundred and seventy-one anonymous projects for the new Opéra went on show at the palais de l'Industrie. Le Figaro named the favourites — Viollet-le-Duc, backed at the Tuileries — and did not even notice the entry of an unknown thirty-five-year-old, filed under the motto "Bramo assai, poco spero": I desire much, I hope for little. Charles Garnier won all the same, on the file — and the opera house bearing his name still rules the whole quarter.
Applications for the 9th compete with their figures uncovered: €2,300 to €2,800 monthly, charges on top, for three bedrooms within one flatshare apartment, from the Nouvelle-Athènes to the grands boulevards, settled dates and complete attachments in order. The bordering arrondissements open the same lists: requests carried towards the 10th arrondissement compete around the canals and stations, those for the 18th climb towards the slopes and their studios.
Landlord of a Haussmann storey near the Trinité or a courtyard flat on the Martyrs? Run your contest like the 1861 jury: on evidence, without favouritism of façade. The 9th's groups file a firm budget, contracts, guarantors — and each flatmate adds their piece to the common file, situation sheet and surety attached. A home where you can rent with friends draws ten serious applications here where a classic listing attracts only casual passers-by: let the best file win — the property that allows shared occupancy wins with it.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 9th's contest really won on the file?
Yes — that is the lesson of 1861: the press favourites lost to the best project. The 9th's landlords receive too many approaches to judge any other way; the unknown but complete group — exact figures, aligned guarantees, a clean calendar — regularly beats the well-recommended but vague candidate.
How does a group application stand out?
By its motto, at heart: desire much, promise precisely. Announce an exact envelope rather than a soft range, a firm date rather than an "as soon as possible", named occupations and guarantors rather than promises. Juries love files that can be reread in two minutes flat.
What share goes on the file between boulevards and Nouvelle-Athènes?
The price outside the contest: €744 a room each month, charges included, per LocService — in the 9th, each flatshare apartment share presents between €780 and €940 per flatmate, depending on storey, courtyard and street. Entering it upfront keeps the application on time and clears the usual misunderstandings.
Nouvelle-Athènes, grands boulevards, Martyrs: where to compete?
The Nouvelle-Athènes for the artists' façades and the calm of the squares; the grands boulevards for high-ceilinged floors above the theatres; the rue des Martyrs and its slopes for the rising village life. The 9th is compact: one application can aim at all three zones without ever contradicting itself.
Owner in the 9th: how should you judge your contest?
As in 1861: blind first — budget, guarantees, calendar —, then in audition: call the whole group to a single viewing, each flatmate present and questioned on the spot. The file tells you the solidity, the meeting tells you the harmony; when the two agree, sign without waiting for any second round.
