Nearly three out of ten social housing providers are underinvesting

Of the 332 French social housing organizations, 92 invested less than the median investment rate of 5% in 2024, despite having comfortable medium-term cash reserves. They represent 23% of the social housing stock.

Ancols calculates that if these 92 social landlords had invested 5% of their assets, "this would have generated an investment surplus of one billion euros (i.e. 4% of the total investment that year) and would have allowed the construction of approximately 5.000 homes or the renovation of 15.700 homes".

Underinvestment has been chronic since 2022 for 48 of these social housing offices. "They are more often located in less densely populated areas" where housing pressures are not the greatest, the study specifies.

The agency also estimates that these 92 organizations have 2,5 billion euros of "mobilizable funds", that is to say their investment capacity beyond the thresholds of good financial health, and that they need 1,35 to 2 billion euros to thermally renovate their housing classified E, F or G in the energy performance diagnosis.

Disparities exist, but 54 organizations, or 59% of underinvested social landlords, have the funds to renovate their energy-inefficient housing and comply with the Climate and Resilience Law, which progressively prohibits the rental of energy-inefficient properties.

Ancols also points out that 46 social landlords who are underinvested do not have an investment strategy or have a strategy but do not fully utilize their funds.

For "a better allocation of resources within the sector", the institution argues that social housing offices should use their available funds to cover their renovation needs and for "greater circulation of capital within the sector", explained Jérémy Ducros, head of the economic studies department of Ancols.

Illustrative image of the article via Depositphotos.com.