In response to the collapse of buildings in Marseille and Lille, the Renaissance deputy for Val-d’Oise Guillaume Vuilletet tabled a bill to set up a technical control of housing. This project, presented on May 10, 2023 to the National Assembly, intends to “empower donors” and fight against the 450,000 occupied housing units considered “unworthy” by the Ministry of Ecological Transition.
Guillaume Vuilletet, Renaissance deputy, recalled that the number of victims of lead poisoning “has continued to grow and particularly affects children for whom the consequences of lead poisoning are particularly serious”, reports Capital. According to the report on the state of poor housing in France by the Abbé Pierre Foundation, 4 million people were not or poorly housed in 2022.
The technical control project would reinforce the “rental permit” introduced by the Alur law of 2014. This permit requires owners to obtain prior authorization from the local authority before renting accommodation.
The new bill “will guarantee that the local concerned respects at least the definition of the decree of decency of 1982”, underlines the deputy of Val-d’Oise. What will this new “technical control” of housing actually consist of?
Like that for cars, the technical control of housing would prohibit owners from renting an apartment “that does not have the minimum characteristics of decency”, reports Capital. Landlords would be required to provide information about the accommodation offered for rent every 10 years.
To carry out this control, landlords will have to provide several pieces of information about their accommodation within a platform set up by the Ministry of Energy Transition. In particular, they should complete the lead, asbestos and termite diagnoses, as well as energy performance. In the event of non-compliance, what will be the consequences for landlords, landlords and tenants?
In the event of non-compliance, the text provides that the owner temporarily sells his property to a social landlord. Thus, a lessor would no longer receive his rent and an occupying owner would become a tenant of his own dwelling. The social organization, having become the owner, would finance the work thanks to the rent paid by the owner or the tenant. For Guillaume Vuilletet, this measure “can be a tool implemented by the public authorities to replace an occupying owner who is unable to carry out the work”, reports Capital.
In the event of refusal to carry out the check, through inaction or lack of means, the owners could also be sanctioned. The measure would be tested over 5 years and orchestrated by the prefects.