upon the death of her mother, the girl who no longer meets the conditions cannot stay

A girl and her mother lived in public housing. But when the latter died, the girl no longer met the conditions because the accommodation was too large for one person. And the fact that her father came to live with her changes nothing, according to a judgment of the Court of Cassation.

The right to social housing, lost, cannot be recovered. This is the conclusion of the Court of Cassation in a judgment rendered on October 10, 2024. A HLM office demanded the departure of an occupant of a four-room apartment, observing that upon the death of her mother, the lease holder, she no longer met the conditions for occupying such accommodation, in particular because she was alone.

This situation did not last, replied the occupant, because her father had subsequently joined her to live in the premises, so that the situation, in terms of the number of inhabitants, was now the same as before the death.

But the conditions of the transfer of the lease to the heiress must be assessed on the day of death and not following subsequent arrangements, replied the Court of Cassation.

Criteria assessed on the day of death

Thus, upon the death of a parent holding a public housing lease, the child who remains in the premises even though he or she has lost the right to do so cannot claim to fulfill the conditions of occupancy again because he would have brought in a new occupant.

The criteria for the right to occupy HLM housing, particularly with regard to the number of people and the number of rooms, must be assessed on the day of death and not subsequently, ruled the Court of Cassation.

She had already ruled, in December 2018, that upon the death of his mother, a son had not been able to acquire the status of tenant since he was alone in accommodation that was now too large and unsuitable for his needs. Furthermore, not having the status of tenant, he could not claim to benefit from the law which provides, in the event of under-occupancy of the accommodation, that the social landlord offers new suitable accommodation.

(Cass. Civ 3, 10.10.2024, E 23-18.933).