they live in a thermal sieve and talk about their difficult daily life

In Besançon, the families of Mandy Petit and Malgorzata Urban are affected by fuel poverty. Mold, water infiltration, humidity… they live in very poorly insulated apartments, which can be considered as thermal sieves. Testimonials.

When she moved into this apartment in Besançon (Doubs) with her three children, a little over two years ago, Mandy Petit did not expect to experience such a situation. On the contrary. At the time, this 76 m2 accommodation and its three bedrooms seemed ideal, after having lived in a poorly isolated place which had pushed him to leave.

“When I moved in, everything had recently molded from floor to ceiling” she explains to our journalists Vanessa Hirson and David Martin. “The landlord explained to me that the entire apartment had been renovated, and that the poor condition of the accommodation was due to the previous tenants.“. We advise him to ventilate and heat the premises well.

But that is not enough. A few months later, Mandy realizes that at her home, “everything is moldy“It had fallen back into an energy sieve, these homes poorly insulated and exposed to the elements.

“Last July, it started again, with the appearance of mold everywhere” she continues. “Everything was covered in this green powder: trash cans, electrical cables, my children's video games, shoes, clothes, furniture, walls… I had to strip everything“.

No matter how much I tried to wash, clean, it comes back. Despite my baking soda and vinegar treatment. We had this in September, then in October.

A tiring routine both physically and morally. “I feel like I'm moving into my own apartment” Mandy confesses. “And then everything that is moldy is ruined…“In addition to this humidity, the apartment is also affected by water infiltration.”For the past year and a half, whenever it rains, I find myself with water dripping in my kitchen. I have to wear bedpans. It's already ruined my furniture“.

Outside the building, the traces of darkness on the facade of the building expose this difficult daily life, shared by the neighborhood. Next to Mandy Petit, same problem for Malgorzata Urban. Her social housing, which she has occupied for 16 years, is also a thermal sieve. On the walls the beginnings of mold, despite the VMC having been changed in 2022, “things have improved” she explains. However, the energy poverty into which she found herself had an economic impact.

It's been four or five years since I bought anything at all. I preferred to heat it to 21-22 degrees so as not to suffer. With heating and gas costs which were high, we are restricting ourselves.

Malgorzata Urban,

tenant

At Mandy Petit, the energy bill is also heavy. “For heating and electricity, I get it every month for around 200 euros” she explains. “And all this to no effect, since even if I heat it, I don't feel anything and it doesn't stop the mold“.

More serious, this situation of energy poverty would also have impacts on the health of tenants. According to Mandy Petit, one of her children developed asthma, which even forced him to be hospitalized for a week, while another coughed regularly. Malgorzata Urban, too, was affected by coughing and joint problems due to the humidity.

According to the Ministry of Health, seemingly harmless moisture stains on our walls and floors can release spores that are very harmful to the lungs. Untreated, mold is potentially responsible for allergies, respiratory illnesses, lung infections, asthma and coughs.

How to get out of it then? According to the two women, exterior work was carried out, without being able to completely resolve their discomfort. They are hoping for the intervention of an expert for exterior insulation. Concerning the infiltration problems of Mandy Petit, the lessor, warned, cannot locate the origin of the water leaks. And his assurancesdon't cover anything“.

To limit the damage, certain communities are putting in place concrete actions to combat this sad observation. In Besançon, this is the role of the local intervention service for energy management (SLIME). “Our mission is firstly to identify the messages, gain their trust then make a diagnosis to support them by proposing concrete solutions.” explains Mireia Matencio, SLIME coordinator. “We provide financial aid, small interventions on equipment and buildings to improve daily life. But the best remains the complete energy renovation of the home.

In Greater Besançon, we have followed more than 1,000 people over the last 10 years. But we know that many homes in need escape our radar.

Mireia Matencio,

SLIME coordinator

Thermal strainers are in fact numerous in Burgundy-Franche-Comté, the lackluster champion of the regions most affected by energy poverty. In our territory, a study by the National Observatory of Energy Poverty (ONPE) estimated that in 2018, 25.5% of BFC housing had become thermal sieves, or 240,000 households.

This can be explained by several criteria: the cold temperatures of the region, the low urbanization favoring large individual houses and the old buildings, built before the development of energy standards. And this situation is unlikely to improve. Indeed, the government is working on postponing the ban on the rental of housing classified G, (the most energy-intensive), which was to be effective from January 1, 2025.