Oxfam highlights the disengagement of the State and the search for profit from private residences

The State has disengaged from housing, inequalities of access continue to increase and private actors are multiplying in this sector, warns in its report “Housing: inequalities at all levels”the NGO Oxfam, which fights against inequalities.

The NGO paints a pessimistic picture of the housing supply. She believes that the State is fading away on the question of taxation. The report reveals that three tax loopholes alone cost 11 billion euros in 12 years, which would have made it possible to finance more than 70,000 social housing units. Oxfam proposes to eliminate one of these advantages, the tax reduction for owners of furnished tourist accommodation, the famous niche “Airbnb”. The NGO believes that it accentuates the housing shortage and the increase in prices in certain cities. A bill aimed at limiting this reduction is due to be debated this week in Parliament.

Inequalities in access to housing are constantly increasing, notes Oxfam. She insists on the multiplication of private residences “with a profit-seeking logic”. These residences are generally intended for students and seniors. These two categories most often devote a larger part of their budget to housing than the average.

Partnerships between certain social landlords and insurance companies or pension funds are also singled out by Oxfam. They seek profitability by investing in so-called housing “intermediate”intended for tenants with incomes too high to access HLM, but insufficient to find private housing, notes the NGO which is particularly concerned about possible rent increases.