In Eure, this city introduces the rental permit to fight against substandard housing

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It is an understatement to say that Marie-Lyne Vagner impatiently awaited this moment. Wednesday October 16, 2024, the municipal council was finally able to decide on the implementation of the rental permit, a provision mentioned by the mayor of Bernay (Eure) since the start of the mandate.

Regularly, over the past four years, the first magistrate has spoken to deplore the state of certain housingwithout sparing real estate agencies in the process. She also signed several danger ordersnotably in rue du Chanoine-Porée.

Created by law in 2016, “the rental permit aims to fight against substandard housing and the slumlords, explains Marie-Lyne Vagner. Voluntary municipalities may apply measures to control rental properties.

Declaration and authorization

Concretely, these measures will take two different forms. A simple declaration from the ownerwhen renting out your property, may be sufficient by completing a form within fifteen days of signing the lease.

The prior authorization regime is more restrictive. The owner must also fill out a form. But, “this implies that the City services travel to visit the property and evaluate its quality,” specifies Marie-Lyne Vagner.

This is mainly to check the state of electrical installations and ventilation, the absence of humidity, traces of mold and risks of falling, compliance with habitability criteria (sufficient brightness of the main rooms, rooms well equipped with openings to the outside, ceiling height, etc.), the condition of the equipment (sufficient means of heating, detector of smoke, compliant sanitation, etc.).

“The City may prescribe work”

Authorization is issued within one month for a period of two years and must be renewed each time it is rented. If agreement is obtained, the rental permit must be attached to the lease.

The City may prescribe work if the condition of the housing or building exposes the occupants to obvious risks that could harm their physical integrity or their health.

Premises or installations used for residential purposes, even though they are unsuitable by nature for this use, are also in the viewfinder. “We know that there are owners who have developed cellars or garages », she recalls.

In the absence of a rental declaration, the owner risks up to 5,000 euros fine. If the property is rented while authorization has been refused, the penalty increases to 15 000 euros.

The rental license applies to rentals for use as main residenceempty or furnished. According to the law, and this is an element which was not cited during the discussion in the municipal council, social housing is not concerned, nor is housing under APL agreement with the State, which excludes it. a certain number of the device.

The perimeters may evolve

Furthermore, in Bernay, only certain sectors, mainly the city center and the Couture district, will initially be targeted in order to take into account the unsanitary problems the most glaring.

“We must be able to measure investment for City services », Points out the mayor of Bernay, in particular the number of agents necessary when it is necessary to carry out technical analyzes within housing.

The declaration register, the simplest to manage, will therefore be largely in the majority compared to the authorization request, reduced to some arteries (rues of Lisieux, des Sources, du Chanoine Porée, des Fontaines, de Rouen, Maurice Lemoing, Guy Pépin).

In the case of authorization, municipal services must be reactive and respond within thirty days. After this period, the silence of the administration constitutes tacit authorization.

“Even with a declaration, we will still be able to intervene to verify that the accommodation is compliant. And this rental license, he will live », affirms Marie-Lyne Vagner, leaving the door open to probable changes to the scope in future years.

The new system will only come into forcefrom July 1, 2025a deadline of six months must be respected. A useful time to “carry out an information campaign while working on the appropriate organization”, comments the mayor of Bernay.

“A social measure”

“The rental permit is a resolutely social measure of tenant protection by ensuring them decent housing, by fighting against unscrupulous owners who rent out unsanitary properties,” explains Marie-Lyne Vagner. The objective is clear:

The general improvement in the long term in the quality of the housing supply and therefore, ultimately, the attractiveness of the territory.

Eighteen months before the next elections, the mayor of Bernay did not leave it to anyone else to present this optional device to which she attaches great political importance. She sees it as tangible proof of her oft-repeated slogan:

A welcoming, supportive and responsible city. There is none of this without decent housing, which is why I have always been in favor of rental permits.

It remains to be seen whether beyond the announcement effects, the municipality will really have the means to achieve its ambitions to fight against poor housing.

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