After having regained jurisdiction over housing building permits on January 1, 2024 in seven municipalities in the Rhône, it is time for a first assessment for the State.
This is a decision that some Rhône mayors were against. By a decree taken on December 27, 2023 pronouncing the lack of social housing in 21 municipalities, the Rhône prefecture announced at the same time taking over the jurisdiction of building permits for seven municipalities from January 1, 2024. Among these municipalities which do not did not comply with the conditions of the SRU law, Caluire-et-Cuire, Mions, Saint-Genis-Laval, Tassin-la-demi-Lune, Chaponnay, Chazay d'Azergues and Saint-Symphorien d'Ozon were “particularly far from their objectives (achievement rate less than 33%)”specifies the Departmental Directorate of Territories (DDT) in a note dated December 20 consulted by Lyon Capital.
For the year 2023, before the Rhône prefecture takes over jurisdiction, only 108 social housing units out of the 1,302 requested were approved in the seven municipalities concerned, i.e. “around 8% of their production targets for 2023-2025.”
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274 approved housing units in 2024
The deficiency orders, having a duration of three years, are divided into two stages: the three-year period 2023-2025 and the first year of the period 2026-2028. The first stage having been completed, it is time to take stock of DDT. Over the year 2024, 325 contracts with promoters were concluded and 12 association meetings “the development of projects prior to the submission of building permits” were organized in the seven municipalities particularly concerned.
The results are considered positive by the State since for the year 2024, the outlook amounts to 274 approved social housing units in the seven municipalities, “including 67% educated by the State, or 184 housing units”2.5 times more than in 2023. At the same time, the DDT of the Rhône also mobilized EPORA, a public land establishment of the State, in order to acquire land and buildings to build social housing. “These lands are acquired amicably or by pre-emption as part of the transfer to the State of the urban pre-emption right of the municipalities following the SRU deficiency orders”further specifies the DDT in its note. In 2024, this allowed the realization of 4 pre-emptions by EPORA.
The DDT also confirms that for the year 2025, the prospects for social housing approvals “established from projects currently under study or operational set-up” in these municipalities there are 650 social housing units, “which would represent 2.5 times more than the result for the year 2024 and 6 times more than the result for the year 2023”concludes the DDT. The production outlook would therefore amount to 920 social housing units between 2024 and 2025, thus bringing the total social housing units to 1,030 (adding the 108 already approved), “or nearly 80% of the 2023-2025 three-year objectives assigned to the seven municipalities.”
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