Housing: the power to build now lies with the town halls

With the "Housing Recovery" plan presented by the Prime Minister and the Minister of Housing, the executive branch is displaying a clear ambition: 2 million homes by 2030, to return to a pace of 400.000 per year, to revive private rental investment thanks to the new status of the private landlord.

The change in tone is remarkable. After several years marked by persistent political distrust of residential real estate, housing is once again becoming what it should never have ceased to be: a strategic economic issue. And it was about time.

Because behind the construction figures, entire territorial balances are faltering.

Contrary to some misconceptions, the existing housing market continues to function. Transactions are gradually picking up, and existing properties are changing hands. But this perpetual motion doesn't create anything new; it redistributes. Existing properties facilitate the transfer of stock; only new construction allows for an increase in the available supply.

However, since 2023, France has been producing too little. And yet, housing has become a matter of competitiveness.

The consequences are becoming tangible. On the one hand, for the daily lives of the French: housing options are stalled, and rents are rising steadily in desirable areas. On the other hand, for the economy: recruitment difficulties in major cities and tourist areas, and workers are increasingly migrating. We are helplessly witnessing the destruction of an entire sector. With dwindling order books, construction companies are disappearing, and skilled workers are vanishing.

The merit of the government plan lies in putting the issue of supply back at the heart of the public debate. The Jeanbrun scheme can help redirect French savings towards rental housing. Announcements regarding the simplification of regulations and the acceleration of procedures are steps in the right direction.

But we must face reality: no tax break will produce housing if the projects cannot get off the ground. And that is precisely the crux of the matter.

The next housing battle won't be won at the Ministry of Finance or in the banks. It will be fought first and foremost in the town halls. Because it is local elected officials who now hold, very concretely, the power to build… or to stop building. Local urban development plans, densification, project acceptance, land mobilization, processing times, transformation of commercial or service-sector zones: the essential operational levers now lie at the municipal level.

The government itself acknowledges this, stating its intention to "bring decision-making closer to the ground" and simplify urban planning at the local level. This is a major development, yet it has received far too little attention.

For a long time, the housing debate focused almost exclusively on fiscal or financial tools. The current crisis reveals a deeper reality: the housing shortage has become primarily a question of political acceptance of production.

A city that refuses to build inevitably ends up gradually closing itself off from a segment of its population: young professionals, families, essential workers, the middle class. It stagnates. Its prices rise. It drives away its workers. And ultimately, it weakens its economic dynamism.

Building is therefore not a technical subject reserved for real estate professionals. It is a choice of territorial model.

In the coming years, communities that agree to produce housing will maintain their attractiveness, their businesses, and their demographic vitality. The others will risk a silent and irreversible residential and economic decline.

The government plan creates a more favorable environment. It can restore confidence among investors and industry players. But the recovery will not depend solely on national measures.

It will depend on a simple question: do mayors still want to build?

Because ultimately, the real power over housing is now in their hands.

Tribune by Norbert Fanchon, President of the Gambetta Group (LinkedIn).