Social housing: FOPH calls for multi-year planning and sales of social housing under the BRS scheme.

The 25th edition of the Inxauseta Talks, organized in the Basque Country around the theme "Housing put to the test by political choices", brought together representatives of social housing, real estate and several political formations.

Michel Ménard, president of the Federation of Public Housing Offices (FOPH), spoke alongside Valérie Fournier, president of the Federation of Social Housing Companies (ESH), at a round table dedicated to social housing and its affordability.

The RLS accused of reducing investment capacity

The president of the FOPH defended the economic model of social housing, based on the reinvestment of housing organizations' profits in the construction, renovation, and maintenance of their properties. According to him, the levies imposed on the sector directly reduce the resources available to meet growing demand.

“Social housing is in better condition than private housing, even if there are needs, particularly for renovations to protect against winter and summer weather. It’s a virtuous model, viewed very positively by our European neighbors. This model is being challenged in France on the grounds that social housing should be financialized. It’s an essential good that shouldn’t be subject to market forces. As an increasingly large share of household income is spent on housing, this puts a strain on purchasing power. We therefore need to build more social housing. In 2018, the RLS (Social Housing Rent Reduction) was introduced, which is only a form of solidarity in name, since it’s a levy on social housing providers, amounting to around 5 to 6% of their revenue. Without the RLS, we could build and renovate more, because the social housing model relies on reinvesting the available resources. With less money, we have to make choices.” " said Michel Ménard, president of the FOPH.

A programming law to give visibility to the sector

The Federation is calling for the abolition of the solidarity rent reduction (RLS) and a reduction of VAT to 5,5%. Above all, it wants the adoption of a multi-year programming law dedicated to housing.

For Michel Ménard, such a text would allow social housing providers and local authorities to have visibility on funding, production targets, and renovation priorities. This stability is considered necessary for planning real estate projects that span several years.

The Federation's president also disputes the budgetary benefit of the savings made on housing policy. He believes that "housing policy doesn't cost the State anything: it generates revenue. When you cut €1 from housing policy, you reduce State revenue by €2. From an economic standpoint, taxing social housing providers is a fundamental mistake."

Reserve social housing sales for long-term leases.

The FOPH also proposes to further regulate the sale of social housing. Often used by organizations as a source of equity, this should, according to Michel Ménard, be systematically carried out within the framework of a social land lease (BRS).

The BRS (Real Estate Solidarity Lease) separates ownership of the dwelling from ownership of the land, which remains held by a land trust. This mechanism helps to regulate the purchase price and resale conditions in order to maintain the long-term affordability of the property.

For Michel Ménard, the sale of social housing "must be possible only in BRS, so that these dwellings are not subject to capital gains tax and remain intended for primary residence".

This proposal aims to enable access to homeownership without the transferred housing units permanently leaving the affordable housing stock due to real estate speculation.

Housing is expected to play a more prominent role in the political debate.

Discussions continued during a roundtable bringing together representatives from several political parties, with the exception of the National Rally and La France Insoumise. Iñaki Echaniz, Member of Parliament for the fourth constituency of Pyrénées-Atlantiques, also defended the principle of a multi-year programming law.

Representatives of the Republicans highlighted a tax status for private landlords designed to support rental investment. The left-wing parties present focused more on renovation and the construction of social housing.

Beyond these differences, the speakers called for housing to be placed at the center of political programs, considering it as an essential need on par with food.