CHU and Tam employees will benefit as a priority from accessible housing offers, in the Montpellier Metropolis

Loïc Messner (Tam), Clara Gimenez (Métropole), Anne-Sophie Grave (CDC Habitat), Maryse Faye (Métropole) and François Bérard (CHU). ML – GR

An agreement signed with the Metropolis and CDC Habitat, this Friday, May 31, will facilitate access to intermediate housing, which is characterized by below-market rents. CHU and Tam employees will be the first to benefit.

It has never been so difficult to find accommodation in and around Montpellier. With 8,000 new inhabitants per month in the urban area, growing economic insecurity and an acute housing crisis, the trend is not about to reverse.

"Nearly 35 000 applications for social housing are pending in the Metropolis and we are having difficulty finding land", deplores Maryse Faye, deputy mayor responsible for sustainable urban planning and land management.

Four years ago, the Covid crisis highlighted the difficulty in finding accommodation for essential workers, that is to say those who cannot work. their teleworking activity. This concerns, for example, staff working in nurseries, businesses or factories.

Carers and tram drivers are other essential professions "for the continuity of the life of the nation". Hence the agreement signed with the CHU and the Tam, this Friday, May 31, by the Métropole de Montpellier and the CDC Habitat group.

"This agreement aims to facilitate access to intermediate housing for these middle-class employees, in particular through a platform of ;rsquo;privileged access to offers", explains Clara Gimenez, vice-president of the Métropole delegated for city policy and social cohesion.

CDC Habitat will deliver 800 intermediate housing units per year in the Metropolis

The CDC Habitat group, an offshoot of the Caisse des Dépôts, which manages more than 5,000 housing units in the Metropolis, will launch a support plan. “We will increase the number of housing units delivered per year from 200 to 800 to meet demand, emphasizes Anne-Sophie Grave, chairwoman of the group's board of directors. And we will give employees a priority right”. This could be exercised for two months, before the offer is communicated to the general public.

Highly sought-after, intermediate housing benefits from capped rents, 10 to 15% lower than prices on the free private market. This can range from 600 to 650 euros for a T2 to 1000 euros for a T4, rents to which charges must be added. If we relate income to rent, this represents an advantage comparable to that of social housing.

To benefit from intermediate housing in Montpellier, which is one of the most tense areas in France, a single person must have an annual tax income of less than €43,529. For a couple without children, it’65,057 € maximum.

"In the Metropolis, the average income is 2,500 € per household for the people we accommodate, explains the CDC Habitat group. Employees under the age of 30 represent nearly 40% of our tenants.

"This will strengthen our attractiveness"

Of more than 11,000 agents at the CHU and 1,500 at the Tam, more than a third (4,300 at the CHU and 500 at the Tam) do not reside in the Metropolis. Hence longer and more expensive travel times.

For these households not eligible for social housing and unable to find happiness in the private sector, intermediate housing is both an opportunity to get closer to their place of work and to save money, as well as whether on housing or transport.

"More than 80% of our agents are drivers and maintenance technicians and therefore eligible for this system, explains Loïc Messner, director of Tam. We hire 100 to 150 people per year, but CVs escape us because of the housing issue. This will strengthen our attractiveness."

"To keep young professionals who have left school in Montpellier, accessible housing is an essential lever", confirms François Bérard, deputy general director of Montpellier University Hospital. "800 people leave the hospital each year and we recruit just as many."

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