Until the appointment of the minister in charge of housing, Christophe Béchu, Minister of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion, represented the government during debates in the National Assembly on a draft law related to speeding up and simplifying the restoration of degraded housing and large-scale development operations. The latter welcomed the adoption of the text of “concrete solutions” at the end of a two-day public hearing, on January 22 and 23, after its adoption by the National Assembly’s Economy Committee on January 16.
“The draft law gives communities and co-owners effective tools to facilitate the renovation of buildings when there is still time, speed up the implementation of existing measures and protect residents from slums”, presented Guillaume Vuilletet, representative of the Renaissance Val d’Oise Economic Affairs Committee opening the debates at the Palais Bourbon.
Creation of collective interest trustees
In order to combat the deterioration of private housing, the text envisages three levels of measures: prevention, support and final expropriation. As a preventive measure, it creates a collective bank loan for co-owners, which makes it possible to facilitate work before permanent damage occurs. The government supplemented it with an amendment with a “public guarantee” for co-owners whose property situation has deteriorated significantly.
In the accompanying measures, one of them, integrated during the discussion in the committee, concerns the creation of a trustee of common interest, who, with the approval of the prefect, will be able to intervene in co-ownership that is under ad agents or under temporary judicial administration. The draft law facilitates the intervention of specialized operators in retraining activities in a way that enables the use of development concessions and the right of first refusal. Thus, where a dangerous or unsanitary requirement order has been issued and the proposed measures have not been taken within six months, an expropriation may be issued in the public interest, including the municipality or EPCI, before the situation becomes irreparable and requires the demolition of the building, such as this is still the case today.
Furthermore, the representatives introduced the right for the mayor or “competent body of the state” to participate in the assembly of the co-ownership company in whose facility or facilities procedures related to safety and security were carried out. building health.
Tightening of criminal sanctions against slum owners
In order to speed up the reconstruction procedures, the draft law also foresees the possibility, in the context of requalification of degraded co-ownerships and planned housing improvement interventions when they are aimed at urban renewal, to force the “division of large complexes into co-ownership” if necessary, without going to court as it is the case today.
As for the coercive aspect, the MPs voted to strengthen criminal sanctions against slum owners. The communist amendment added the impossibility for these unscrupulous owners to acquire real estate other than their main residence for a period of up to 15 years.
The Senate initiates consultations with elected officials before considering the text
Adopted in the National Assembly with 126 votes in favor and one against, with the support of the presidential majority and opposition groups, with the exception of LFI and RN who abstained, the bill related to the acceleration and simplification of the renovation of degraded housing and major development operations must now be examined Senate. The latter announced on January 24 that he would initiate consultations of elected officials to prepare for this exam. “Dominique Estrosi Sassone, President of the Committee on Economic Affairs, and Amel Gacquerre, rapporteur of the text for the Committee on Economic Affairs, responsible for the meritorious review of the bill, want to better understand the difficulties and needs of the mayors and collect their opinions on the main provisions of the text, as well as their proposals “, reports the Committee for Economic Affairs of the Upper House of the Parliament, which will be able to “in this way more relevantly amend the text proposed by the government and discussed by the National Assembly.
“I will conduct numerous hearings in the Senate, but gathering the opinions of the mayor and president of EPCI, who are directly faced with degraded co-ownership relations, is important for me,” Amel Gacquerre points out. Elected officials can participate in this consultation by connecting to the following address until February 7, 2024: