Social housing: “In Montpellier, we fill our quota”

La pile de dossier augmente chez les bailleurs sociaux. Midi Libre – FABRICE ANDRES

Pas épargné par la crise, le logement social est à la peine à travers la région. Dans la métropole montpelliéraine également. À Montpellier, les élus ont décidé de poursuivre l’investissement.

If the production of new housing has been crumbling in recent months, in Occitanie as elsewhere across France, Montpellier seems to be doing well. Proof: "In the city, we fill our quota. We are at 24.6% whereas we should be at 25% (as required by the State, Editor's note). We are a good student with regard to the solidarity and urban renewal law", summarizes Michel Calvo, the deputy of the municipal majority in charge of social affairs.

Cyril Meunier: “We are at 12% in Lattes”

If Lattes (some sixteen thousand inhabitants) is part of the least well-off municipalities in the Metropolis Cyril Meunier, its mayor for almost a quarter of a century now defends and explains it.

What is the percentage of social housing in your municipality ?

In Lattes, we are at 12% (the minimum threshold set by the State being 25%, Editor's note). We don't have to be the worst. And when I arrived twenty-three years ago, we had 2% social housing (then 6.3% in 2008, 10.66% in 2019, Editor's note).
So, to get back on track, you have to go… hellip; Because the first ten years, we had to take a break in terms of investments.

Because I was born in a Parisian city, I also refused the construction of new housing estates as had been done for forty years.
It was also necessary to manage the risk “floods” and engage the hydraulic safety. That was the deal with the State.

I also imposed the 30% of social housing for each new program.
Today, many co-ownerships do this. But before, the promoters didn't bless me. And then, in the collective imagination, social diversity was delinquency.

What about your land capacity ?

I have big problems getting new concessions accepted by the existing populations in the face of the 2,100 housing units to be built every six years, required by the State.

In fact, what does this gap cost your municipality ?

Today we pay 700,000 € (for the year 2023, Editor's note) and this year we are being announced 790,000 €, on an operating budget of 26M€.

This while all the programs that I have launched have been attacked (this is the case of L’île des Platanes, a fourteen-storey construction planned in Boirargues, Editor's note ). And then we have to build buildings. We were already saying it in 2006. Today, everyone does it.

We can no longer spread out. But there is no question of remaking a city like we did in the seventies!
 

Métropole: 3,800 housing units granted for 33,500 requests

"We have 33,500 requests across the entire metropolis. We had 33,000 in 2023 and granted 3,800 housing units. Which shows a decline in construction, even here while we are making efforts. We note that the gap between supply and demand is increasing, notes the man who is also a metropolitan councilor.

Consequence: "One of our decisions was to move ACM ( the municipal social landlord, Editor's note) from four to five hundred housing units per year to a thousand by 2026. Then to continue until 2028. Enough to double the number of properties put on the market.

This with hope "that this will boost other manufacturers. Today, Altemed (*) has distributed 7,600 housing units to be built. We are on the right achievement curve. In 2023, we put 450 housing units on the market after 1,015 in 2022. But despite everything, this is a drop compared to the level of 2021. This is the expression of the crisis. ;, explains Michel Calvo.

A step back to be put into perspective and put into a more general context. And the elected official confirmed by example: "In Toulouse, this drop is 51%". Then concede: "This is one of the crises that is most difficult to control. Today, we are clearly at the bottom of the wave. And if we see some lulls appearing, eight months ago we saw calls for tenders with additional costs of 15% to 25% depending on the trade. All markets were overbid by around 20% on average".

“I've been sleeping on my couch for two years”

"&CcedI've been sleeping on my couch for two years, but it’s a priority. to the children here", sighs Victor, single father of two children and security agent. in a mall. "I applied for social housing six months ago, because with the birth of the little one (Elliot, one and a half years old today Editor's note), we étions à “Narrow”, Victor explains.

But since then, radio silence."I know that there are a lot of requests and that I am still lucky enough to have a roof over my head. But it’s difficult not being able to offer decent accommodation to children", explains the man who rents a 35 m2 apartment in the neighborhood Silver Cross.

The reasons for this wait: the ever-increasing number of requests and the significant drop in new construction projects. "If I could go into the private sector ;, I would go directly but I don't have the means and the price of housing has become staggering in recent years."

"I'm not a priority"

Like Victor, Valérie(*) could not imagine having to stay in her unsanitary apartment for so long. "I’ai made requests for rehousing but I am not a priority", explains the retiree. "I have been living with mold since last winter but nothing has changed", regrets this resident of H&rault Habitat.

"Papers, reminders… I don't like calling and putting pressure on employees but without this relentlessness, I don't think I'll move right away" , she resigns herself.

If many of them maintain hopes of being rehoused or simply accessing social housing, others do not ;don't have the necessary patience and turn to the private sector. "I’have a studio at home. Saint-Éloi because I did not have access to Crous accommodation", explains Amaryllis, a 25-year-old student on the way to become a specialized educator.

"For 450 €, I could have gotten larger and better-adapted accommodation. in HLMs. I am just above the scales for the Crous, just above for social housing but at the start of the month, after having paid my rent, I only have a few hundred euros left for absolutely everything else."

*The first name was given modified.
 

Thirty million unlocked
to support the “housing” of the City

Today ? "In the last two months, we have started to see the curve bend, or even reverse. We recovered 10%. According to our analysis, by June, there will only be 5% to 6% additional cost."

Despite an emergency plan passed last July by the Metropolis, the disparities are glaring across the territory. Jean-François Codomié – infographic Sophie Wauquiez

That being the case, Montpellier made a political choice by deciding to overinvest in this sector. "But not all cities, all departments have made this decision, some being unable to do so while others have chosen priorities other than housing.&nbsp ;But the crisis comes from the national policy pursued. Particularly with the Solidarity Rent Reduction, everyone has gone to checkout. And with credit rates increasing from 1.5% to 4.50%, a double RLS was taken. Here, one or two landlords are in difficulty but it is marginal. Where it’s more complicated is in small towns and small departments Of the thirteen departments in the region, between two and three have their office which will end up negative. We have decided to allocate 30M€ capital to support our plan. And we can do it without imbalance", explains Michel Calvo.

(*) Altémed brings together ACM Habitat (the social landlord), the Montpellier region equipment company (Serm) and SA3M.

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