A suspended prison sentence for a slumlord who rented out an unsanitary cellar in Marseille

The 67-year-old owner was found guilty by the Marseille criminal court of subjecting a vulnerable person to undignified living conditions.

Residents and the building manager of a building on Rue Curiol, in the run-down center of Marseille, had denounced the rental of a 9 m³ room and a 2,5 m³ bathroom, located in the basement, accessible by a dark staircase from an iron trapdoor at sidewalk level.

The cellar had no windows and was covered in mold.

The occupant of the premises, a young Tunisian man, paid a monthly rent of 300 euros, including 20 euros for utilities and 40 euros for electricity.

Employed in a very precarious position in the restaurant industry, the young man had accepted this lease to avoid ending up on the street.

"I don't feel at all comfortable in this accommodation, but it's still better than the shelter," he explained to the police.

And while this young tenant was hospitalized, the landlord told investigators: "Since he's in the hospital now, he's not paying anymore and, as a result, it's all on me."

The owner of the premises, declared unsanitary by a prefectural decree of November 2024 and prohibited for habitation, had acquired, in 2010, this premises for strictly commercial use for the sum of 15.000 euros.

"Barely the price of a used car but with a rate of return of 25%" denounced Me Jorge Mendes Constante, lawyer for the city of Marseille, civil party, at the hearing.

Claiming to be a real estate agent, owning nine apartments that bring him 3.600 euros a month, the defendant said he was unaware of the prohibition against renting commercial premises for residential use.

Absent from the hearing, he described himself in a document submitted to the court as depressed and alcoholic, living himself in unsanitary accommodation in a building subject to a safety order.

President Margaux Kennedy, upon reading the judgment, considered that he had "economically exploited the vulnerability of his tenant even though he continues to present himself as a helpful person."

In addition to the €20.000 fine the man must pay, his real estate company, which owns his property, was given a suspended fine of €20.000. The court ordered the confiscation of the premises with immediate effect.