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They take advantage of the precariousness of foreign students to house them in unsanitary conditions. Cockroaches, floods… Brut has visited the tiny “apartments” rented to them in the basement of a slum merchant’s house.
Cockroaches, water leaks, lack of light… Brut went to the homes of students in Villejuif, in the south of Paris, who were victims of slum landlords. These students, mostly foreigners, are housed in precarious conditions. They live in a seemingly ordinary house but are, in reality, in a basement divided into several unsanitary apartments. Lalu, one of the students lives in particular in an apartment of just under 20 square meters for almost 700 euros per month. The bedroom contains two single beds and has only one window which overlooks a garage. The ceilings are low and the neon lights pale. “I encouraged them to report the apartments to the town hall so that they could have an intervention so there is a procedure in progress but very long“, explains Thomas, a friend of Lalu.
The town hall of Villejuif has therefore noted the insalubrity. Also, the apartment being a basement, it should not be rented. Lalu is not the only one in this case: many students have fallen into the trap of these sleep dealers. Among them, Sneha, a student of Indian origin who arrived here in June 2019. When she arrived, she did not know that she would be sharing a roommate and she found herself sleeping in the same bed as the roommate who was assigned to her. imposed. “There is no inventory that is made, there is nothing; we make them sign a paper and lo and behold, they are in it and they pay“, explains Thomas.
Also, the students do not have an electricity meter. They therefore cannot monitor their electricity consumption, which is also illegal.