In its new local housing plan, the Nice-Côte d'Azur Metropolis is pursuing the objective of producing an average of 2,800 new housing units per year, until 2029. An ambition lower than that of the previous program… but which had not, in any case, been conclusive.
It is in a context of an increasingly palpable housing crisis and a clogged market that the Nice Metropolis presented its PLH to journalists on Monday, December 2. The Local Housing Program serves to determine the community's objectives regarding real estate, in particular construction and the policy adopted over the next five years.
This therefore takes us to 2029 for the plan presented at the beginning of the week by Vice-President Anthony Borré. As a preamble, it should be remembered that the price of land has exploded, without forgetting the pressure exerted by the proliferation of furnished tourist accommodation.
1,300 social housing units per year
Based on this observation, the metropolitan council hopes to see 2,800 housing units created per year, between new construction, acquisitions and renovation. This would give us 14,000 new properties in five years. In this total, we must identify 40% of free housing (without income criteria), 40% dedicated to social and 20% of affordable homes (at amounts lower than those of the market).
This means that 1,300 social housing units are planned per year, including 742 in Nice, for just over 1,000 new homes. We are therefore far from the forecasts for the period 2017-2022 (3,500 properties each year), but which were not followed.
This rate of social housing does not correspond to the objectives set by the SRU law, which requires that 25% of all housing be in social housing. A program “unsuitable and unrealistic“, as the community deplores. Anthony Borré prefers to retain the evolution, with an increase of 4 points since 2008 (from 10 to 14%). Remember that many municipalities have been sanctioned for this reason.
Towards a rental license?
Among the other points to remember from this fourth PLH, there is also the reflection around a rental license. This would mainly concern priority sectors. The idea is quite simply to prevent unsanitary properties from being rented out. Owners should send a request to the town hall to have the right to rent the apartment. A visit would thus be carried out before any marketing. This is currently only an avenue.
Hunting for vacancies
Other subjects, the elevation and recovery of vacant homes. Unable to build more than necessary, the Metropolis intends to develop these two axes. For the first, 7,500 housing units would have the potential, including 3,250 social ones, to increase in height.
It also wishes, throughout the five years, to initiate procedures to acquire unoccupied buildings, often in poor condition, in order to rehabilitate them and create a new offer, for purchase or rental.
The objective is to put 900 vacant properties more than two years old back on the market. For this, the metropolitan council offers: either assistance with renovation for owners, or to do it themselves, after purchase.
