The FNAIM and SOS Racisme sign a partnership under the aegis of the government to fight against discrimination in access to housing

A partnership signed by Dominique SOPO, President of SOS Racisme, and Jean-Marc TORROLLION, President of the FNAIM, in the presence of Olivier KLEIN, Minister Delegate for Cities and Housing, and Isabelle LONVIS-ROME, Minister Delegate to the Prime Minister in charge of Gender Equality, Diversity and Equal Opportunities, who came to recall the importance of the subject for the Government.

The signing of this partnership agreement is the culmination of joint work carried out by the FNAIM and SOS Racisme since May. Under the impetus of their respective presidents, Jean-Marc TORROLLION and Dominique SOPO, the two entities have decided to take up the challenge represented by the fight against discrimination in access to housing.

The objective of this work, carried out under the aegis of the Interministerial Delegation for the fight against racism, anti-Semitism and anti-LGBT hatred (DILCRAH), was well defined: to make prevention and fight actions more effective against the discriminatory practices carried out by the FNAIM among its members in order to achieve a concrete improvement in daily behavior.

In practice, this new partnership will result in the regular organization of control tests conducted by SOS Racisme with real estate agents and property managers who are members of the FNAIM and trained in the fight against discrimination. The formalization of the signature of this partnership takes the place of a first educational step with the members: the existence of these controls is known, but not their period nor, of course, their target.

Once the checks have been carried out, the results will be analyzed and will be the subject of feedback to the professionals concerned, whether positive or negative. In addition, an agency that has exercised discriminatory practices during these tests will be sanctioned during an internal procedure by the FNAIM, which may lead to a warning, referral to additional training or even suspension.

The Government in support of an innovative operation

The project was carried out with the support of the Government, following on from the signing on October 1, 2020 of the charter aimed at “strengthening the action of real estate professionals to fight against all forms of discrimination in access to housing. housing” signed by the main professional real estate unions, and the establishment, by the decree of October 14, 2020, of mandatory training in discrimination for real estate professionals.

Also, this unprecedented partnership, which will be monitored by DILCRAH, was signed on December 6, 2022 by Dominique SOPO and Jean-Marc TORROLLION, alongside whom was his successor, Loïc CANTIN, in the presence of 'Isabelle LONVIS-ROME, Minister Delegate in charge of Equality between Women and Men, Diversity and Equal Opportunities, and Olivier KLEIN, Minister Delegate in charge of Cities and Housing.

Dominique SOPO, president of SOS Racisme: “Racial discrimination has for too long been minimized even though it prevents those who suffer from it from benefiting from all the opportunities offered by our society. I am delighted that we can move forward, thanks to this innovative partnership signed with the FNAIM, on a path that could inspire other players in the real estate sector – and even beyond – in the fight against racial discrimination. With the FNAIM, the internal testing that we plan as well as the attention paid to the effectiveness of the training provided allow us to deploy additional tools on an unprecedented scale to deal with the scourge of discrimination. »

Jean-Marc TOROLLION, President of the National Real Estate Federation: “As real estate professionals, we cannot claim to be a trusted third party and not be exemplary on subjects as sensitive as the fight against discrimination. We have always asserted our requirement for the training of professionals, at the service of consumers. Today, we take a new step. This work was carried out in awareness of our responsibilities, a fortiori as the leading real estate syndicate, with determination, with a single goal: efficiency. In this sense, I would like to salute the spirit in which we have worked with SOS Racisme. »

Isabelle LONVIS-ROME, Minister Delegate to the Prime Minister for Gender Equality, Diversity and Equal Opportunities: “I am very happy that the historical commitment of SOS Racisme to fight against discrimination in access to housing materializes today through this ambitious partnership with the FNAIM and its 10.000 members. With Olivier KLEIN, we are resolutely committed to supporting this commitment and we are delighted with this unprecedented partnership which, we hope, will spread to other players concerned. More broadly, the Government is determined to continue to make the fight against all forms of discrimination a central focus of public action. It is this conviction that has guided the interministerial work to draw up the next National Plan to Combat Racism, Anti-Semitism and Discrimination Related to Origin. »

Olivier KLEIN, Minister Delegate for Cities and Housing: “Each discrimination is an individual injury, a collective failure. In the France of 2022, we cannot be satisfied with broken destinies when they have not even begun. We must be outraged but above all we must act. This is the meaning of this agreement, which expresses the power of the values ​​that unite us all to make our society inclusive and respectful of everyone. It was important to be able to sign this commitment with Isabelle LONVIS-ROME, alongside the FNAIM and SOS Racisme. I am convinced that this initiative will make more housing players want to embark on this work of conviction and training.