The Government is strengthening coordination in the fight against substandard housing and sanctions against slum landlords.

This reality, which has serious consequences for the health and safety of people, has led Gérald Darmanin, Minister of State, Keeper of the Seals, Minister of Justice, Bruno Retailleau, Minister of State, Minister of the Interior, Catherine Vautrin, Minister of Labor, Health, Solidarity and Families, Eric Lombard, Minister of the Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty, and Valérie Létard, Minister responsible for Housing, to mobilize all services on the ground in an unprecedented way for an offensive and coordinated policy.

Through an interministerial circular, the ministers are asking each departmental prefect to intensify the fight against substandard housing and to strengthen sanctions against slum landlords by mobilizing all government departments and partners. This circular does not replace previous texts but complements and coordinates their implementation based on three major axes:

• Strengthen the departmental substandard housing control units (PDLHI), led by prefects and bringing together all relevant stakeholders. These units will have to establish a departmental plan to combat substandard housing by the end of 2025, with regular monitoring and specific objectives. For example, health agencies will better identify risky situations through home inspections and reporting of cases where the health or safety of occupants is at risk.
• Combat slum landlords more effectively by strengthening cooperation with prosecutors, law enforcement, and tax authorities. Proactive identification of owners providing substandard housing can be done by contacting land registry services. Prosecutors are encouraged to maintain a firm and appropriate criminal policy and highlight the criminal penalties incurred (up to 7 years' imprisonment and €200.000 in fines; 15 years' imprisonment and €400.000 if the acts are committed to the detriment of several victims, including a minor). Finally, prefects will ensure the systematic implementation of ex officio work, particularly in emergencies, and the application of administrative fines, for which systematic collection by the tax authorities is requested.
• Systematize the promotion to communities, through guides and toolboxes, of the legal tools resulting from the law of April 9, 2024, in particular the new procedure for expropriation for remedial purposes. Prefects will have to support municipalities, particularly the smallest and least equipped with engineering.

These three areas will be implemented through enhanced coordination under the aegis of the prefects and in close collaboration with prosecutors, whose role is fundamental, Regional Health Agencies (ARS), Family Allowance Funds (CAF), internal security forces and public finance services.

For Catherine Vautrin, Minister of Labor, Health, Solidarity and Families: "The fight against substandard housing is a priority for public health, social justice, and human dignity. Through this interministerial circular, we call on each prefect to intensify the fight against substandard housing and to firmly sanction slum landlords, by mobilizing all government departments and their partners. It is through coordinated, determined action, as close to the ground as possible, that we will guarantee everyone a living environment that respects their dignity."

For Valérie Létard, Minister for Housing, during her trip to Marseille on April 3 and 4 to announce her plan: "Substandard housing remains a worrying reality. This scourge must be eradicated, because decent housing is essential for a dignified and healthy life. We will only find solutions if all stakeholders, including all government departments, move in the same direction. This interministerial circular demonstrates the government's commitment to providing decent housing that protects health and safety, and to punish slum landlords."