The Alpes-Maritimes are faced with two problems in terms of housing: a lack of supply and demand. Between 2015 and 2020, 7,000 homes were built in the department. “Right now, we are less than 4,000”says Laurent Tirot, president of the Federation of Real Estate Developers (FPI) Côte d’Azur Corsica. The cause, according to him: a drop in obtaining building permits and the number of buildable plots. “Once the permits are obtained, around 90% are attacked. This is very significant in our department,” he adds.
Few rotations in HLM
However, many elected officials and business leaders insist that the Côte d'Azur lacks affordable housing. Erilia, the main social landlord of the Sophia Antipolis urban community (Casa), has a turnover rate of 3.2% in 2024, while the national average is around 6%. “With real estate rates approaching 4%, purchasing power is not keeping up. And with the end of the Pinel law on December 31, we no longer have the support of investors. However, we must face the “increase in construction and production costs But to obtain a loan from a bank, you must pre-market between 30 and 50% of a real estate project.”explains Laurent Tirot.
Even if rates tend to go down a little, the situation is not getting resolved. Particularly in the Casa territory, whose technology park creates more than 1,000 jobs per year. To remedy this, the community is focusing in particular on intermediate housing. Cheaper than free housing but more expensive than social housing. “To facilitate this, in the same way as we guarantee the loan for social housing, we will apply a guarantee for intermediate housing, which will come into force on January 1”confirms Alexandre Follot, the deputy general director of Casa. For example: in a program of 100 housing units with 40% social housing and 20% intermediate housing, the urban community guarantees the landlord's share and that of intermediate housing. Real security for banks.
Taken into account in the SRU law?
Currently, intermediate housing is not taken into account in the calculation of the SRU penalty (1). “Before the last reshuffle, the Minister for Housing had proposed working on it. We will see if it comes back on the agenda. If it happens, so much the better; otherwise, we will have responded to a need of our population”concludes Alexandre Follot. “In difficult times, we can also sell intermediate housing en bloc to social landlords”continues Laurent Tirot. The latter can even go further, like Erilia, who manages to build entire residences, as project owner.
1. Municipalities with more than 3,500 inhabitants are subject to the SRU law, which requires that 25% of their housing stock be social. Antibes is for example around 13%.
A social landlord, project owner for two projects
Among the projects of which social landlord Erilia is proud: the Les Prugnons university campus – which is due to be inaugurated in 2026 on avenue Jules-Grec, in Antibes – and the renovation of the former Dulys hotel, in the La Fontonne district. The latter will be transformed into a residence for elderly people with low incomes. Thanks to its partnership with Casa, Erilia purchased the two plots of land for a symbolic euro.
“With green labels”
“Providing social housing is not just about buying back a percentage from the developers. Thanks to this help from the Casa, we can be the project manager on these two projects. And we are committed to ensuring that the amount that the we do not put in the land or directed towards the design with green labels”confirms Géraldine Dumas, the Côte d’Azur regional director of Erilia.
According to her, it is difficult for developers to achieve this level of exemplary energy, which is too expensive. “Precisely, we are not calling into question these environmental obligations, we even wish to comply with them. But, to achieve this, we are asking that the prices of social housing be reviewed”agrees Laurent Tirot.
The departmental president of the federation of real estate developers explains that the price of social housing is determined by the municipalities. In order to help the profession overcome the current economic difficulties, the federation would like the sale price of HLM to be indexed.
