the essential
Renting a one-bedroom apartment is a real obstacle course in the Gers. Few goods – or very expensive – and no turnovers. Real estate agents have explanations.
When he got into a relationship with a woman from Gers, Lucas from Toulouse did not imagine that he would encounter such difficulties finding accommodation in the department. “In Toulouse, it’s a war to find a rental, but I thought that in Gers, it would be very simple,” he remembers. Today, after waiting more than 6 months in a studio, the two lovebirds have discovered the pearl. There are many of them in this case. And that’s not about to change.
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“Before, we had a lot of rental properties, including one-bedroom apartments,” explains Jean-Luc Chaubell, rental advisor at Square Habitat. This was particularly true for construction around 2004-2007. At the time of Covid, many sales were are aimed at first-time buyers, who have benefited from an end to tax exemption.”
Direct consequence: goods which covered part of the demands left the private rental stock. Without renewal of the offer. Even if Auch is more affected than the rest of the department, the movement is general, especially since there has been less construction outside the prefecture.
Growing demand
Demand is not about to weaken. “If we had a lot of T2s, obviously, we would rent them all,” exclaims the advisor. “Give me 30 T2s, I’ll rent them to you!” The banks having closed the tap for real estate loans, tenants are no longer leaving their homes. No turnover of supply… And the T2 is often the only type of rental that Gersois singles or couples can afford. Rental files impose income that represents three times the amount of rent. “If you have a salary of €1,500, the average in the Gers for a single person, you are at the maximum, notes Jean-Luc Chaubell. Previously, T2s cost €430 per month. Now, they come in at €500.”
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Landlords who are too greedy, however, encounter difficulties in finding buyers. Problem: conversely, the most affordable rents attract tenants with the weakest records, notes Elodie Gayraud, director of the Human Immobilier agency.
DPE backlash
The scarcity of goods has not helped matters. The latest laws prohibiting the rental of properties rated “G” in energy performance diagnosis (DPE) have discouraged some owners. “They preferred to sell than carry out the work,” notes Elodie Gayraud. “And from 2028, it will be the turn of properties rated F.” With 10 agencies in the department, the manager has a good overview of the deficiencies. “It’s a request for T2 per day and per agency,” she confides. She also points to the Airbnb phenomenon, very present in the Gers, which removes accommodation from the traditional residential rental circuit.
The social sector is no better off
The Gers social housing stock is also experiencing problems. Most of the programs which constitute the bulk of the offer in the department date from a time when family housing was being built, and in particular T4s. “Today, between new family forms and the aging of tenants, we have more and more requests for T2s,” explains a manager of the Auch public housing office. And the power of creating social housing n has nothing to do with those of the 60s or 70s!”
New programs, such as that of the former Gimont gendarmerie, automatically include almost 50% of “small areas”, T2 or T3. And as in the private sector, tenants are in no hurry to leave their walls. “It will be difficult to catch up on construction, concedes the OPH. The times are not conducive to this type of investment…”
