Unsanitary housing: Tenants and small owners in the city center think together and come together

Une première réunion a eu lieu à l’espace Bousquet ce mardi.

MP Sébastien Rome and LFI activists have initiated and are supporting a citizen initiative to try to get things moving in the face of the deterioration of private property.

"Along with employment, housing is the second concern of the people we receive in our offices, explains deputy Sébastien Rome (LFI). This is a subject that I have taken up through work around city centers and unsanitary housing, in addition to what is done by communities to try to speed things up."

One of the aspects, tested in Lodève, lies in the creation of a collective of tenants and owners.

A door to door then a first meeting

"We carried out door-to-door work with our activists, in the priority neighborhood to meet people, listen to their problems and invite them to meet us to talk about it, continues Maël Reninger. The MP's parliamentary attaché hosted, with town planner Antoine Desclèves recruited for a six-month mission, a meeting this Tuesday, February 26 in the Marie-Christine Bousquet space.

"We see common problems emerging regarding private housing, abuse, complicated situations experienced on a daily basis, continues Maël Reninger. We do not come up with miracle solutions. The idea is to identify them and try to see together how to act, to challenge decision-makers and make things happen. Show these people that they are not alone in this situation."

And the testimonies continued, pointing out difficult situations, dramatic even for certain people housed in unworthy conditions (mold, cracks, collapses, insulation, heating…). With the same difficulty of making oneself heard by "sleep merchants" for carrying out work on very degraded heritage in the heart of the city.

"I was horrified by what I saw while going door to door, says an LFI activist. There is a gap between what the law provides and the reality on the ground. We can act at different levels, with the legislature, with local authorities but also with citizens through this collective that we want to encourage and support."

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