Manuel Domergue, director of studies of the Abbé Pierre Foundation said he feared Monday, November 1 on franceinfo “40,000 evictions” in 2022 for unpaid rents after two years of tolerance on the part of the prefects while the winter break begins on Monday, November 1. The Abbé Pierre Foundation is also asking that the ban on power cuts for unpaid bills, already in force during the truce, be extended to the whole year. Manuel Domergue offers “a reduction in power” for “have the minimum electrical necessary”.
franceinfo: Why do you fear an explosion in rental evictions in the coming months?
Manuel Domergue: We have a particular fear because the Covid-19 has created unpaid bills and social difficulties for certain categories of the population. And then, there were few expulsions in 2020 and 2021. That does not mean that the situations are settled. It means that the people have obtained a reprieve, but they are still sentenced to deportation. So, our fear is that from April 1, 2022, all this accumulated stock of court decisions that condemn people to expulsion, will be executed by the prefectures after the little respite that there has been in 2020 and 2021. We are afraid that there may be 30,000 to 40,000 expulsions in 2022, if there is not a real policy of preventing expulsions. We must also look for alternatives for households with rehousing or amicable solutions with the owners.
Minister Emmanuelle Wargon ensures that public or private donors will be compensated for unpaid bills. Doesn’t that go far enough?
There was indeed an envelope of 20 million euros in 2021 additional to the usual budget to compensate donors. It’s normal. They must be compensated when the courts condemn the eviction and the prefect does not evict for social reasons, the lessor must be compensated. However, we know very well that this envelope is not sufficient and that once the prefects consume it during the year, when they have more, they have to expel in a fairly rapid manner and without any alternative. Sometimes even without any accommodation solution for households.
We need more money, if only to return to the level which was this envelope ten years ago of 75 million euros. Today it has fallen to 30 million. So the minister’s 20 million euro extension is interesting, but it is not sufficient because there are now many households that are in arrears. And it’s not because they are deadbeat, but because the rents are too high. And then, besides that, there are already millions of households who live on social minima at totally insufficient levels.
You are asking that gas and electricity cuts in the event of unpaid bills be prohibited all year round. Is it vital for families?
Yes quite. It is a drama. Fortunately, we do not cut the energy during the winter because that would have extremely serious human consequences. But when you think about it, cutting the electricity in April, May, October, is still something extremely painful for households. I remind you that there are 280,000 power cuts each year for unpaid bills in France. So that means hundreds of thousands of people who live in the dark, who can’t have a fridge or a hob. Their kids can’t do their homework at home, they can’t telecommute. So these are really things which are impossible and which are extremely traumatic for people or for their children in particular.
And even if only the threat of having that cut. It is something that hangs over the heads of people who are overdue on energy bills. We have a simple and really minimal proposal. We can get a lot of consensus around this. For people who have major electricity arrears, there should be no more total blackout. But we can consider a reduction in power. That is to say you can at least have the minimum electrical necessary to light you, have a fridge or have a cell phone charge.