A report by Terra Nova proposes a series of measures to combat the housing crisis

In this report entitled "For a refounding of housing policy", the think tank advocates the establishment of a tax status for private landlords, recognizing rental as a fully-fledged economic activity.

"For first-time arrivals in a city (...) there needs to be a significant rental stock," explained Frédérique Lahaye, co-author of the report, at a press conference, "but we need to try to do something very social," she emphasized.

This status for private landlords, which aims to revive rental investment, is among the amendments adopted on Tuesday in the revenue section of the budget, on which the government has committed its responsibility by using Article 49.3.

Terra Nova also suggests developing rental cooperatives financed by the members themselves in order to "develop an affordable supply", says Bernard Coloos, another co-author of the study.

While the French social housing model is "recognized as an asset in the face of the housing crisis" according to Terra Nova, it also suffers "from rigidities", including "unequal geographical distribution, low tenant mobility, the mismatch between housing size and household composition, and the complexity of allocation methods".

To strengthen the social housing sector, "it is proposed (...) to increase the supply, in particular of small dwellings, to rethink the rent policy, to better distribute construction geographically and to diversify the populations accommodated while preserving social mix", argues Terra Nova.

The institution also believes that converting vacant offices into housing is overestimated and cannot, on its own, meet the needs.

On an institutional level, Terra Nova advocates for strengthening the role of inter-municipalities in steering housing policies, in order to better adapt responses to local realities, while maintaining the strategic role of the State.

The authors of the report also recommend abolishing the solidarity rent reduction (RLS), which they consider detrimental to the investment capacity of landlords.

This system is "a bureaucratic nightmare that penalizes social housing organizations that house the most poor people," denounces Frédérique Lahaye, "because the lower the rents you charge for vulnerable populations, the more you pay in RLS."

Illustrative image of the article via Depositphotos.com.