A text on maintaining social housing arrives in the chamber, threatened by the left

Submitted by former Housing Minister Guillaume Kasbarian (Ensemble pour la République, a Macronist group), the text proposes to tighten the conditions for remaining in social housing, in particular by lowering the income thresholds from which a social landlord can ask a tenant to leave a property or demand additional "surcharge".

"Owning accommodation that is suitable for needs or likely to generate income allowing access to the private sector" would also become a reason for terminating a lease.

The objective is better "social justice" and an improvement in the turnover in social housing, according to the rapporteur of the text, EPR-affiliated MP Stéphane Vojetta.

Concretely, "an employee living in Saint-Denis will have to leave their social housing starting from a net salary of 3.800 euros per month" for two years, compared to 4.336 euros per month currently, he argued during the examination by the Economic Affairs Committee.

He estimates that nearly 30.000 social housing units could be released, while 2,7 million homes were waiting at the end of 2024.

Thomas Portes, the rebellious MP for Seine-Saint-Denis, pointed out that overpayments and measures requiring people to leave social housing already exist.

A motion for prior rejection of the text was filed by LFI.

"I will reach out to our opposition, particularly the left," declared Stéphane Vojetta on Friday, who has tabled several amendments to this effect.

One of them modifies the title of the text, criticized as "fallacious", which for the moment promises the "end of lifelong maintenance in social housing".

Another amendment proposes that the obligation to terminate the lease for tenants who have become owners only applies in tense areas - excluding priority urban policy districts (QPV).

A third proposes that these priority, less advantaged neighborhoods remain exempt from overpayments in order to "preserve social diversity."

Diversity

Mr. Vojetta "is doing this because he feels he doesn't have a majority behind him, including in his own camp," Socialist MP Iñaki Echaniz told AFP, maintaining his opposition to a text whose content is deemed "either ineffective, unfair, or counterproductive."

The National Rally has tabled amendments aimed at excluding French nationals from the tightening of access conditions, or at including "national preference" among the eligibility criteria for access to social housing.

In committee last week, amendments tabled by left-wing MPs and the independent Liot group to delete the main articles of the bill were adopted. However, the committee voted against the stripped-down version of the text, which is now being tabled in its original form.

The Communists had requested its withdrawal from the agenda, given the "large majority against the text."

"We want social diversity, not ghettos!" reacted Juliette Méadel, Minister of Urban Affairs, on X, welcoming the committee's rejection. Guillaume Kasbarian immediately responded, suggesting the minister resign.

During a debate Wednesday evening, Housing Minister Valérie Létard declared that "while the objective is laudable, we must work towards a balanced text." She will be the one sitting on the bench on Monday.

The Social Housing Union, which represents social landlords, is strongly opposed to this proposed law.

"The lowering and generalization of these thresholds (for excess rent and leaving housing, editor's note) would only amplify the attacks on social diversity, the founding principle of the French social housing model, by contributing to the creation of even more ghettos," the USH criticized in a press release on Wednesday.

In a statement published Wednesday, the National Agency for Housing Information (ANIL) also discredited the text, considering it "more of a media diversionary measure than an attempt to respond to the deep crisis."