Updated on 8 June 2025
NB: Only the French version of this charter is authentic.
These rules, which are an appendix of the Internal Rules (IR) of the Student-led Housing Comittee (Délégation générale, DG), define the modalities according to which the DG deals with the assignment of rooms of the dormitories (hereinafter referred to as « thurnes ») made available to students by the Accomodation Office of the ENS.
The word thurne can be spelled in two ways : turne and thurne. The spelling turne is only allowed during leap years when it is recommended. The spelling thurne is always allowed. The same rule applies for every word including the root thurne.
The DG deals with housing of students, as defined by article 3 of the IR. It also allows other students housed by the school to attend Monthly Room Allocation (Thurnage Partiel, TP) to change their thurne.
The DG manages the rooms with the administration. Before every Monthly Room Allocation, it gives to the DG the list of available thurnes. The DG manages room assignment only : it cannot manage the full housing stock.
Exthurnes are CROUS rooms or studios made available to the DG by the administration, as defined in article 1 of the Appendix for exthurnes. Conditional exthurnes are exthurnes to which the CROUS applies a status, nationality or other criterion, as defined in article 2 of the Appendix for exthurnes.
Every student trading directly with the administration without the DG agreement would be considered as a fraudster, with all the implied consequences, as defined by article 48 of this appendix.
The choice of a first-year student not to be housed is irrevocable for the DG. A first-year student who quitted the dormitories and who wants to be housed again should have to go through a Monthly Room Allocation (TP).
Every student has to fill their scolar situation for the following year to the DG (it can be a gapyear - « spread » (étalement) or « interruption » (interruption)- or the following year of scolarship).
This has to be done every year before the publication of the jokers list. The DG reminds this duty to students during the inscription to the Yearly Room Allocation (Thurnage Général, TG). The DG considers that students who didn't answer are going to their next year of scholarship. The DG is not responsible for an error about the situation of a student who did not fill their situation. In case of a half-gapyear, students are allowed to choose to declare themselves in gapyear or not, with the limit of three gapyears in their schooling.
Every student has, since the first TG happening during their schooling, a certain amount of jokers that can be played during all schooling. They can be played at every moment, together or not. Played jokers are valid until the next TG excluded. Jokers are strictly personal and non-transferable. A joker played cannot be given back, with the exception of the cases defined by the current rules (article 42).
The Yearly Room Allocation (TG) is considered by the DG to be the first room allocation (thurnage) of the following academic year.
First year students don't have any jokers before the first TG of their schooling. All students have three Jokers.
During Room Allocation, students participate by drawing up wish lists. A list is the set of rooms or which the student is prepared to play a certain number of jokers. No two rooms in the same category (defined in 11.2) may be entered on more than one wish list by the same student. Acceptance of a room by a student when one of his or her wish lists is called means playing the associated number of jokers on his or her wish list, as specified in article 23.
A zero jokers list may contain rooms already registered in other lists.
The rooms categories mentioned in article 11 are : Ulm carré / Ulm hors carré / Jourdan / logements-studios / Montrouge.
In order to define the priority order for students to choose their rooms during TG and TP, a priority system is set. It takes into account the number of jokers played and then the number of former years housed (AL). A year is considered "housed" only if a thurne was obtained during the TG or during a TP strictly before November, with the exception of first year of schooling. Students are ranked by drawing lots, using an algorithm publish by the DG. Their wish lists are then divided into categories and sub-categories according to the order defined in article 15. Within each category, the relative position of the wish lists is that of the students to whom they correspond.
During a room allocation (thurnage), if two people (respectively three) each have lists on which they have played at least one Joker, they can request to play as a list pair (respectively trio). A pair (respectively a trio) is counted in the ranking as a single list, whose number of jokers is equal to the sum of the number of jokers of the lists thus associated by its members. When the number of jokers is equal, pairs have priority over individuals, and trios over pairs. The order of pairs (respectively trios) with the same number of jokers is determined by drawing lots. The same person cannot have a list played individually ranked higher than a list played in pairs or trios. If this situation arises during a pairing, the person concerned must give up the list or the individual list concerned. A person may only form a pair or trio list.
Trios are inseparable and united for a year.
The order of categories during room allocations (thurnages) is the following, with the following notations: T for trio, P for pair, J for joker and AL for year of housing:
Categories PÉ and A (who are not students as defined by article 3 of main rules), cannot play during the Yearly Room Allocation (TG).
Are considered « CROUS grant holders » every student, as defined by article 3, whose name is written on a list of persons who need to be housed on social criteria, that the administration gives to the DG. Can also be considered « CROUS grant holders » students who have gave directly to the DG their grant attestation for the current year.
The DG has a secrecy duty to persons having the status « CROUS grant holders ». In particular, the DG has to keep their status secret when it doesn't have their written agreement.
The International Selection (Sélection Internationale, SI) students and CROUS grant holders are garanteed to have a thurne during the TG if they play at least one joker in a list ; unless they ask explicitely the DG and fill a form, they can only play one joker a year. In the case one student of these categories would like to play more than one joker in a list, the DG only agrees after ensuring that the student understands that they may no be housed the year after. The form to declare that the student understands the risks should be given before the publication of the list of jokers. The DG reminds this obligation to IS and CROUS grant holders during the inscription to the Yearly Room Allocation (TG).
If a student doesn't withdraw the key of their room during the month after its availability (or the month after the beginning of the school year, if concerning the TG) and didn't inform the DG, the thurne is automatiquely considered free.
The date of the Yearly Room Allocation is determined by the DG, under the same modalities of the date of an GA (article 15 of main rules).
At the end of every school year, the DG organizes a Yearl Room Allocation during which its attributes, within the limits of available places, rooms for next year to students (as define by article 3 of main rules, who are not civil servants or trainee civil servants in a corps whose increased salary scale grade is higher than that of the student civil servants of the ENS) who will not be first-year students in that year, blocking a certain amount of rooms in every site with the agreement of the administration in order to house first year students and students from abroad (PÉ). No other quota is fixed for other categories of students whose housing depends of the school administration.
During summer, the DG gives to first year students and to students from abroad (PÉ) the rooms blocked for this case. The thurnage of first year students is finished when all first year students and students from abroad are housed.
To enroll, every student should fill the form through the website of the DG at least ten (10) days before the TG. In case of misworking of the website, emails are also accepted. The persons whose answers are given to the DG after the deadline are exposed to see their wishes ignored and will be systematically ranked the lastest of their category.
The DG determines the number of thurnes available during the Yearly Room Allocation (TG) in agreement with the administration in order to let enough rooms free for first year students and students from abroad (PÉ) at the beginning of the school year in September. Especially, the DG negociates the repartition of PÉ in each site with the International Office (Direction des Relations Internationales, DRI). The DG has to estimate the number of first year students who do not want a thurne, in order to both not let a too big amount of rooms free after the first year students distribution, and to allow every first year student who wants a thurne to have it. Between the TG and the first year students' room allocation (thurnage), the DG refines its estimation as it receives rooms' demands, and, if possible, gives thurnes to non housed persons, respecting the order of the TG. The DG can then guarantee housing to grant holders whose grant attestations were given after the deadline defined in article 25. The DG doesn't have to give rooms if concerned students do not answer within one week.
Via the DG website, students enter their status and register for the Yearly Room Allocation (TG). They announce the number of jokers they wish to play for the following year. If they want, they can form several wish lists as defined in article 11, with a different number of jokers played between these lists, (in which can play up to the maximum number of jokers held by the student on each of these lists). They specify the rooms (or categories defined in 11-2) wagered on each list. In the case of indications, these are considered to be exhaustive and definitive. Any wish list must include at least one category; a wish list that does not include one is considered not to be avenue. If a person does not have a wish list meeting these criteria or asks for one at the first call, he/she will take part in the TG with the highest number of jokers he/she has indicated and without wish constraints. They specify whether they wish to play in pairs or trios on one or more of these lists. If some CROUS exthurnes are dedicated to CROUS grant holders, these are asked:
Once inscriptions are closed, the ranking is made and pairs are created according to articles 12, 13 and 15, with an iterative way. The number of jokers played cannot be modified. The random draw is public and reproductible. The reproductibility information of the random draw are published. The DG then gives CROUS rooms according to wishes given by grant holders students, as defined in article 25. The ranking, where do not take place students having had or having refused a CROUS studio and withdrawing persons is published. Steps described in previous alineas are done one by one, in this order.
If the DG is unable to prove that it has not arbitrarily chosen the entry parameters on its own, then an emergency General Assembly (GA) is called to establish this, cancel the draw and draw a new list.
The calendar of the TG organization have to respect the order and the deadlines which follow:
The distribution of CROUS rooms to CROUS grant holders happends as described below :
No grant attestation, as defined by article 16, could be take into account by the DG for the TG after the attribution of CROUS rooms. If the CROUS applies another criterion to the exthurnes, they are allocated, if possible, in the same way. In any case, it is done according to the ranking and before the TG: the DG then calls the persons who meet the criterion in order to offer them an exthurne before the ranking is published.
The Yearly Room Allocation (TG) happens as follows:
The DG members remember the way the room allocation (thurnage) works. Every student, or pair, or trio is called in turn according to the list ranking to choose their thurne among those free. The DG doesn't have to give a thurne to a person who is unreachable and didn't ask to be represented.
The DG makes sure at every moment that the number of free thurnes it stills can give and which are not reserved as defined by article 20, is greater than the number of students who have guarantee of housing (SI included) who have not a thurne yet. When these two numbers are equal, the DG ends the TG.
The DG has to publish Yearly Room Allocation (TG) results within twenty-four (24) hours after its end, on its website and on its board.
After the publication of Yearly Room Allocation (TG) results, the DG gives thurnes at its discretion to the CROUS grant holders who didn't get thurnes during TG.
If conditional exthurnes are still available, they are distributed in priority.
Students who didn't get any thurne neither during Yearly Room Allocation (TG), nor before the housing of first year students for any of their lists, get back their jokers. If not, they pay the number of jokers linked to the list with whom they got a room.
Every missing student during Yearly Room Allocation (TG) can be represented by another student, if they have told the DG so (written procuration or email sent directly to the DG, or precised in their wishes). A student can also be represented by the DG, under the same terms. If a student is not represented, DG members choose the thurne. The DG isn't responsible for the consequences of the missing of a student in a thurnage.
If a person who had a thurne during the Yearly Room Allocation (TG) finally chooses not to take it at the beginning of the school year, they can get back their played jokers for having got it. The current year then doesn't count as a year of housing. This is allowed only if the withdrawal of the room happens before August 1st, and if the thurne can be redistributed after that. After that date, played jokers are definitively played.
During the period between the Yearly Room Allocation (TG) and the first Monthly Room Allocation of the year, a pair formed for the TG may decide to unpair. The DG then reallocates a room to each member of the pair in priority if, and only if, these people were thurned as a pair with a list that was ranked high enough to obtain a room at the end of the TG. If this is not the case (i.e. if one of these people was only able to obtain a room thanks to his or her pairing), he or she cannot be given priority. Priority reallocation is made at the cost of the minimum number of Jokers that would have enabled these people to be thurned at the previous TG. It cannot reallocate the room initially obtained to a member of the pair if the latter had not been able to obtain a room of equivalent quality on his own at the time of the TG with the list used to form the pair.
After the thurnage of first year students, the thurnes which are still free are given before the beginning of the school year during the first Monthly Room Allocation (TP).
During the school year, the DG gives thurnes during Monthly Room Allocations (TP) which happens every month.
After the Yearly Room Allocation (TG), and until the closure of the rooms for summer, no TP can be done. The free rooms are then given according to DG's choice.
The DG can choose to guarantee a room to a CROUS grant holder or to a first year student who didn't ask for a thurne at the beginning of the school year, independently of his/her ranking.
The DG chooses the date of Mothly Room Allocations (TP) according to rooms' freeing. It has to:
The date choosen for a TP should satisfy to the same conditions than that of a General Assembly (article 15 of the main rules), with the exception of the TP before the beginning of the school year in september, ruled by article 33.
The announcement of a Monthly Room Allocation (TP) should happen at least one week before the TP. An announcement can be published in the student's newspaper. The list of the free rooms if put on the website as soon as possible.
At the time of each Thurnage Partiel, the DG specifies in its e-mail whether rooms are available in the so-called quiet corridors. These rooms are accessible to first-year students in priority, but not exclusively. Entrants must send a signed attestation under the same conditions as those stipulated in article 3 of the Appendix for “quiet” corridors. It is also possible to send an e-mail to the DG to obtain information on exits or possible exits from the quiet corridors, or to make an exchange with a member of the corridor. Exchanges take place during a Thurnage Partiel and are governed by article 44 of the present Appendix.
The DG is obliged to indicate on any list of thurnes in play at a Thurnage which ones are in a quiet corridor - if there are any.
If a person who has obtained a room by forming a pair participates in a TP, he/she can choose for each of his/her lists:
A person who has just broken a pair has the right to form immediately another pair with someone else. By extension, two persons who have not played as a pair at the Yearly Room Allocation (TG) can pair up at any TP during the year. (GA of 23/03/2023)
When two persons have obtained a thurne by forming a pair and only one of them decides to leave the dormitories during the year, the DG asks the Assembly of the Monthly Room Allocation (TP) following the departure to decide unanimously if the other member of the pair is allowed to keep their thurne alone.
Every student, Foreign Resident (Pensionnaire Étranger, PÉ), student following a master's degree at the ENS (mastérien·ne non-cohabilité·e), can play during Monthly Room Allocations. (GA of 23/03/2023) The ranking order during TP is defined by articles 12, 15 and 40. The procedure of TP is not applicable to exthurnes.
During a TP, if there is at every moment the same number or more first-year students not housed in Ulm (carré excluded) than thurnes in Ulm (carré excluded), then first year students are prior for thurnes in Ulm (carré excluded), until there is no more free thurnes in Ulm.
During a Monthly Room Allocation (TP), every student whom at least a list has already been called (and then with a better rank than the student who is choosing at the moment) can « appeal », which means ask for a thurne which became free after they were asked to choose one. They then free the thurne choosed before. The TP is then iterative.
A Monthly Room Allocation (TP) takes place as described below:
If a person plays jokers during a TP but does not get any thurne or keeps the same thurne, their jokers are given back.
A student unable to attend a Monthly Room Allocation (TP) can be represented either by the person of their choice, or by the DG, as defined by article 30.
When registering for a TP, if the participant decides to be represented by the DG, the participant must inform the DG whether or not he/she accepts a quiet corridor room. In the absence of this information, the DG assumes that the participant refuses all rooms in a quiet corridor.
At the beginning of Monthly Room Allocation (TP), the ocuppants of two thurnes can present themselves to the assembly to exchange their thurnes. For every case, if the assembly agrees and the DG members think the exchange is sensible (especially that the two rooms are equivalent) then the exchange is immediately made and written down in the result of the TP. The persons who are part of the exchange are allowed to play during the TP. Out of TP, a similar request can be done if justified. In this case and with the spport of the members of the DG, this exchange is registered in the next TP.
Unless otherwise specified by the DG, two rooms from the same group (Carré, Erasme, Rataud, Annexe, Hypnos 1, Hypnos 2, Tour A, Tour B, Tour C) are of equivalent quality. Two rooms from different groups among : Carré, Ulm hors Carré, Hypnos 1, Hypnos 2, Montrouge; cannot be of equivalent quality, unless the TP assembly unanimously agrees that the exchange is valid.
In case of construction work which implies the closure of occupied rooms in a campus, the DG has to guarantee, as much as possible, a new housing to people concerned by construction work. In order to do this, the DG may prohibit newcomers from taking part in the Monthly Room Allocations (TP) prior to the start date of the work, or give priority to displaced persons.
If the health of a student needs a particular care, the DG can allow them to occupy a thurne according to conditions outside of these rules, which are defined case by case, with dialogue with the concerned administration -- Health Centre (Pôle Santé), Office of Studies, Student affairs and Careers (DEVEC), etc.
Minor changes of thurne, i.e. between rooms of equivalent quality or on the same campus, may be made outside the room allocations (thurnages) by the DG in urgent cases not otherwise dealt with by one of the School's administrative departments. These changes must always be validated by the Housing Office (Pôle Hébergement). (GA of 23/03/2023)
Every student is allowed to live in their thurne with another person of their choice. However, they have to declare this roommate to the DG, which allows the release of second key, and an access card if necessary. This measure aims on the one hand to enable the recognition of these housed persons, and on the other hand to limit the risk of confusion with subletting problems. A long absence of the housing person is considered a subletting case by the DG.
All actions going against the rules presented are considered as a fraud.
As frauds, we consider, for instance: setting an under-occupation contract (even for free) with a person who is an ENS student or not, using a room as a secondary residence, the non-declaration by members of a pair that one of them has left the dorms, exchanging rooms with someone else without the DG knowing it, false declaration of situation and/or of jokers amount, all kinds of seeking to avoid the DG in its role of rooms distribution. The foregoing list is not exhaustive.
Exchanging rooms without declaring it is strictly forbidden, and considered as under-occupation.
Concerned about the respect of each housed person and their property, the DG can sanction thefts in common areas, including but not limited to theft of food. These thefts are considered frauds and shall be sanctioned as such, in accordance with the provisions of Article 49 of these rules.
Fraud can be of three types, assessed according to the circumstances in which it was committed:
Fraud entails a sanction proportionate to its seriousness.
The DG takes into account the personal situation of the person concerned, as well as any other circumstance that may reduce or increase the seriousness of the fraud.
The sanction is not valid if the DG has adopted it without having offered a prior interview to the person concerned by electronic means.
In any case, the DG sanctions at most :
The DG can adopt precautionary measures. In particular, it can ask an irregular occupant to leave their premises when the occupation is carried out without title.
If necessary, the DG will inform the School's Direction, which may impose financial penalties or refer the matter to the competent court.
In the event of a dispute, a person sanctioned may appeal against the decision taken by the DG to the next ordinary or extraordinary General Assembly (GA). It is possible to convene an extraordinary General Assembly for this purpose only.
In this case, the sanctions are suspended as soon as the GA is convened and the DG presents the grievances against the person concerned at the opening of the GA. The person concerned is given a reasonable amount of time (at least ten minutes) to present their situation to the GA. They are assisted by a person of their choice.
After debate, the GA votes by secret ballot in favour of maintaining the sanction taken by the DG, of a lesser sanction or of the cancellation of the sanction.
The DG congratulates all those who have read these rules entirely.