The law against “degraded housing” passed this spring 2024 intends to make sanctions more severe against owners renting substandard housing. It must facilitate the structural diagnosis of buildings, improve access to credit for co-owners or facilitate the launch of work to avoid too serious deterioration. However, the question of the application of laws must also be asked, because the means are still lacking to make the fight against substandard housing possible.
A mass phenomenon
On November 5, 2018, two buildings located at 63 and 65 rue d'Aubagne, in the first arrondissement of Marseille, collapsed on their residents. Eight people died and more than 4,000 were evacuated. This Thursday, sixteen defendants will appear before the criminal court. They constitute the chain of irresponsibility and greed that led to this tragedy. Sociologist Camille François takes stock of degraded housing in France: “ Around 500,000 homes are considered unworthy, including 400,000 in mainland France and 100,000 in overseas territories. This concerns approximately 1,200,000 people. »
Territorial issues Listen later
Lecture listen 16 min
Protective measures
To better control the expansion of dangers linked to substandard housing, the State has put in place a series of measures and control tools in order to control the phenomenon, Camille François explains to us: “ The ALUR law of 2014, followed by a decree of December 2016, establishes a rental permit. In the private rental market, the rental of a property is subject to authorization issued by municipal services. However, this measure remains limited in large cities, where the substandard housing market is particularly present. What happened in Marseille is one of the emblems of this. »
Territorial issues Listen later
Lecture listen 15 min
A common responsibility
For Camille François, substandard housing is not only the consequence of blunders by owners, but the result of the actions of a whole group of actors: “ In the dock, in the trial of the tragedy in rue d'Aubagne, is the entire chain of poor housing – trustees who failed in their obligations, experts whose expertise proved defective, local elected officials, owners – which is being blamed. »
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