Social housing: 2,7 million applications, up from 2023, announces USH

"This is a demand that is increasing everywhere. It is the same phenomenon as in previous years in all regions and which shows how the issue of access to affordable housing remains very important," commented Ms. Cosse during a press conference.

In detail, 1,8 million households are waiting for their first social housing and 870.000 already housed in the existing housing stock are waiting for a new one.

"A deterioration in access to housing" which is accompanied by a drop in the number of approvals for new social housing, pointed out Emmanuelle Cosse.

Some 82.000 social housing units were built this year, compared to 120.000 five years ago, she said the day before on RTL.

The former Minister of Housing also denounced a freeze on credits granted for HLM renovation.

The former Minister of Housing, Patrice Vergriete, announced in October, at the closing of the HLM congress in Nantes, an envelope of 1,2 billion euros over three years, or 400 million euros per year, to renovate the social housing stock.

The resigning government has not kept its commitments (...) This envelope has already been frozen without prior debate in July by (the resigning Minister of the Economy) Bruno Le Maire by more than half," affirmed Ms Cosse.

"The government has not even been able to keep a commitment it made, which it included in the Finance Act, for six months; this is absolutely unacceptable," she lamented.

In an "extremely unclear" political and economic context, "our fear is, on the one hand, that we will lack visibility, but above all that we will be faced with a budget that is recessionary and, above all, that will cut us off," she added.

Illustrative image of the article via Depositphotos.com.