At the end of 2022, 2.42 million households were waiting for social housing – including 1.63 million for a first allocation. The HLM congress takes place from Tuesday to Thursday in Nantes.
It is a testimony that is no longer extraordinary: this single mother, victim of domestic violence, and therefore recognized as a priority audience, says that she never obtained social housing in Lyon, despite a request submitted there ago. two and a half years.
>> Social housing: “This is unprecedented, we have never had so many applicants in France”, warns Emmanuelle Cosse
“Following a separation, I found myself in accommodation that was too expensive and too small, with two children”she explains, remaining anonymous. “I made a request on the social housing requests portal. Then, in relation to my employer, I made a request to Action Logement.”
“I only had one proposal after two years but, in committee, a person in front of me got the accommodation, and I haven’t had an offer since. Even when you take the right steps, it doesn’t change anything to the fact that it is very complicated to have housing.”
An anonymous motherat franceinfo
It is in a context of deterioration of social housing, with ever more demands, that the 83rd congress of the Social Union for Housing is being held in Nantes. At the end of 2022 in France, 2.42 million households were waiting for social housing – including 1.63 million for a first allocation, while the number of authorized social housing decreases each year. A serious shortage, aggravated by the crisis in the marketing of new housing.
Less and less new housing is authorized each year: in 2023, the number of authorizations – “approvals” in HLM jargon – in France should be “below” the 95,000 in 2022, which was already “a very bad year“, worried the president of the Social Union for Housing (USH), Emmanuelle Cosse. According to a study commissioned by the USH, 198,000 new social housing units should be created per year, to respond to major demographic trends and reduce poor housing.
>> “With a small terrace to spread out your belongings and put your surfboard down”: faced with a lack of accommodation, these engineering school students are going camping
At the local level, the Metropolis of Lyon has just launched an emergency plan of an additional 10 million euros to support the exit of operations in favor of social issues. “A local authority like the Metropolis of Lyon must be able to subsidize social landlords so that they can put themselves in a position to acquire the share of vacant housing that they are unable to market”explains Renaud Payre, the vice-president in charge of housing. “It seems essential to us at a time when there is such a wait. Today, there are nine requests for just one that ends up in social housing.”
The Metropolis of Lyon, which expects, just like social landlords, a proactive policy from the State.