the “distress” of the inhabitants of an unsanitary residence in Bayonne

The Abbé-Pierre Foundation is publishing this Thursday, February 1, its report on the state of poor housing in France in 2024 and denounces an increasingly worrying situation.

“Rotten !“This is how Rudy Ortica describes the state of his apartment in the north of Bayonne, where he has lived for a little over a year.”I have mold right on the paper“, he laments, pointing to a wall. These humidity problems are common to several residences, and for several months, he and his collective have been calling on the social landlord about this situation of poor housing.

70 years after Abbé Pierre’s appeal, the foundation that bears his name is still denouncing problems of poor housing. In its 29th report, published Thursday February 1, the association estimates that more than a million people suffer “very difficult living conditions that are often dangerous for their health and safety“, due to unworthy housing. The Foundation also estimates that more than a quarter of French households are cold at home.

“All the walls are soaked with water”

Rudy and his three children are often sick due to humidity, even though he takes care of his walls and tirelessly ventilates and heats his home. The father of the family despairs: “Every week I have to clean and repaint. But the paint doesn’t dry, it keeps coming back. It’s tiring“He walks into the room where his children are sleeping.”the worst“, according to him, because “t“All the walls are soaked with water.”

Sometimes I cry about it, because I tell myself that I will never get out of it. We really have the impression of being prisoners of this rot.

Rudy Ortica, member of the Alda Habas collective

franceinfo

To escape this moldy prison, the Alda Habas collective met each resident of the residence and found that 137 homes were affected by humidity problems. 36 tenants decided to take action, including Nathalie Ramos, member of the collective. His bathroomis turning black again“. Yet “I painted it two years ago“, she says. “It will have to be redone, so re-sand and repaint.“

Beyond the material impacts, the unsanitary conditions of these housing also have consequences on health. “People complain of having breathing problems“, notes the resident. And when she goes door to door, Nathalie can only hear”people’s distress” : “They have the impression of not being heard since there are no solutions provided.“

30 million euros by 2028

Last week, Nathalie and her collective therefore decided to occupy the headquarters of the social landlord, Habitat sud Atlantique (HSA), in order to meet the general director, Lausséni Sangaré. He has since promised an investment of 1.5 million euros, before a complete rehabilitation within four years. “In our heritage strategy plan, an envelope of 30 million euros is planned in 2028 to intervene on this residence, well before the intervention of the collective“, assures the director. He admits, however, that the 2028 milestone may seem distant for some residents.

More than a million social housing units have been renovated since the start of the 2000s, according to the Abbé Pierre Foundation. The association, however, denounces delays which are sometimes measured in ten years for housing which has not yet been renovated.