Parliament toughens penalties for squatters

The Parliament definitively adopted, Wednesday, June 14, by a last vote of the Senate, a bill of the presidential majority toughening the sentences against the squatters. The vote on this text, which also speeds up procedures in the event of unpaid rent, was won by 248 votes to 91.

The bill “aiming to protect housing against illegal occupation” by deputy Guillaume Kasbarian (Renaissance) has been in the works since the end of 2022, following several highly publicized housing squat cases. It triples the penalties incurred by squatters up to three years in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros. According to an addition by the senators at first reading, the judge will no longer be able to grant delays to squatters whose eviction has been judicially ordered.

Acceleration of procedures in the event of unpaid rent

A new offense is created, punishing with a fine of 3,750 euros propaganda or advertising in favor of methods encouraging the invasion of a home. The bill also speeds up procedures in the event of unpaid rent. In particular, lease contracts systematically provide for a “automatic termination clause”. Activating this clause will allow a landlord to obtain the termination of the lease without having to take legal action and thus be able to obtain an eviction more quickly.

An article from the Senate aimed at “to balance the text by strengthening social support for tenants in difficulty” was kept by the deputies. The Minister of Justice, Eric Dupond-Moretti, defended a drafting “balanced, because it reinforces the rights of owners without calling into question the protection of occupants in good faith”.

A “true criminalization of poverty”

This new legislation worries the left, which considers the text unacceptable, and associations fighting against poor housing. The majority communist CRCE group unsuccessfully defended a motion to reject the text en bloc, “true criminalization of poverty”according to Pascal Savoldelli, “an offensive against tenants and against the most deprived” for Marie-Noëlle Lienemann.

In its annual report, the Abbé-Pierre Foundation estimated the number of homeless people in France at 330,000. That is 30,000 more than the previous year. The number of households applying for social housing has never been so high (2.42 million).