Social housing, construction, owners' rights... what the Minister of Housing is preparing

Social housing

Auditioned by the Senate Economic Affairs Committee on Tuesday, Valérie Létard announced a cap of 1,1 billion euros on the solidarity rent reduction (RLS), a levy made by the State on the income of social landlords.

The measure aims to "give landlords more room for maneuver" and will be accompanied by a commitment to produce new social housing.

On the thorny issue of the Solidarity and Urban Renewal Act (SRU), and its article 55, which in real estate jargon refers to the quotas of social housing imposed on certain municipalities, the minister concedes that it has "limitations", but also "an interest".

"If there is no longer Article 55, it will be complicated to achieve social housing production objectives," she believes.

As for the energy renovation of social housing, the minister says she has obtained an envelope of 200 million euros for 2025, more than the empty line provided for in the first draft of the 2025 budget, but half as much as the promise of the former Minister of Housing in 2023.

Furthermore, "the Second Life decree", which allows old buildings to be renovated with the requirements of new buildings, "will come to fruition" according to her.

Construction of new housing

"We are trying to act on all levers (...), for all segments, all actors and all audiences to try to unblock all the obstacles that we can unblock" in construction, assures Valérie Létard.

After the generalization of the zero-rate loan (PTZ) throughout the territory, Valérie Létard is now working on "the support to be provided to rental investment" with the end of the Pinel tax niche. Parliamentary work is underway and concerns in particular a mechanism for exemption from inheritance tax in the event of a donation of a new apartment, for a limited period.

"The aim is to use dormant capital," said the minister who supports this work.

The renovation project is also an area of ​​reflection, with a proposed law on the transformation of offices into housing supported by the government and which the Minister of Housing hopes to see complete "its legislative process quickly".

And killing two birds with one stone, the transformation of offices can encourage the creation of student housing, which France lacks, an issue for which there are many avenues of reflection but which are not yet precise.

Rental crisis

The supply of rental accommodation has fallen sharply in recent years: -8,6% in October compared to the same month in 2023 and -22,1% compared to October 2022, according to SeLoger.

"We need to carry out broad work on the profitability and security of the residential rental business," Valérie Létard said on Tuesday.

She wants to "find ways to reassure owners and tenants and simplify access to housing."

The former senator added that she hopes "that rent control will be assessed from the middle of next year."

Urban policy and urban renewal

In favour of urban renewal programmes, Valérie Létard pushed to amend the 2025 budget project and provide the National Agency for Urban Renewal (ANRU) with 50 million euros next year, compared to zero planned in the first version of the text.

The credits for the city policy are equivalent to the “expenditures observed in 2023”.

As for the Priority Neighborhoods of the City (QPV), "they need sustainable mobilization (...). This will be one of the main objectives of the interministerial committee of cities that I want to bring together (...) at the beginning of 2025", she said.

Emergency shelter for women

Already announced in October, 203.000 emergency accommodation places are preserved in the 2025 budget, but Valérie Létard wants to develop "support for accommodation for women victims of violence", which must already be "prioritized" according to her.

"We need to improve inter-ministerial mobilization: Interior, Employment, Health, Solidarity, Education."

Illustrative image of the article via Depositphotos.com.