A 10 m² studio or a 15 m² bedroom with shared facilities: what exactly can you rent for €1,000 in Luxembourg?

An advert caused a stir this weekend, just a few days before Housing Week and at a time when the housing crisis is intensifying in Luxembourg as the new academic year begins: a 10 m² studio flat to let in Luxembourg City, in the Clausen neighbourhood, for 1,100 euros including service charges (https://www.athome.lu/location/appartement/luxembourg/id-9362642.html). Calculated per square metre, the figure is striking: €100 per m² excluding service charges.

However, when you run a search on the Observatoire de l’Habitat’s property simulator (https://logement.public.lu/fr/observatoire-habitat/prix-de-location/simulateur.html) for a very small property in Luxembourg City, the upper end of the range is already €918 per month, so this studio is not that far off market prices. This is because floor area and price are inversely proportional: the smaller the floor area, the higher the price per square metre.

But beyond the price, this announcement raises questions about how we use the available floor space: should we build more very small, self-contained flats, or would it be better to share larger flats?

A tenant who pays around €1,000 for a 15 m² room in a shared flat is not actually renting 15 m² of living space. They have 15 m² of private space and access to communal areas such as the kitchen, bathroom, dining room, lounge, utility room, cellar, and even a gym, jacuzzi and sauna… At MyColoc, each flatmate has access to around 100 m² of shared communal areas in addition to their bedroom. The price also includes services such as cleaning, internet, insurance and the provision of consumables.

Esch-sur-Alzette’s building regulations are in line with this approach: to authorise a house to be shared, they require each flatmate to have 9 m² in addition to their bedroom.

It is also worth noting that a 10 m² studio would not have been permitted in Esch-sur-Alzette, which stipulates a minimum floor area of 12 m² per person for a dwelling, and as much as 25 m² for a studio in the new Parc Lankelz neighbourhood. The minimum size for a studio flat is 35 m² in Dudelange, 20 m² in Walferdange, 30 m² in Strassen, 45 m² in Hespérange, …

Consequently, the regulations in Luxembourg are such that an identical property may or may not be authorised, depending on the municipality or even the neighbourhood in which it is situated. MyColoc has developed a compliance simulator, currently being tested by local authorities, which will enable landlords to assess the feasibility of converting their property into shared accommodation, depending on the local authority and the property’s layout. If you are interested, you can request early access to the simulator.

So, sharing a flat isn’t just a way of splitting the rent. It’s also a way of sharing living space.

Fewer square metres all to yourself, but more square metres of living space.