“We need strong signs and it’s a start,” says the president of the National Union of Property Owners

Christophe Demerson, president of the National Union of Property Owners (UNPI), after the harsher sentences against squatters by Parliament. The adopted text triples the penalties incurred by squatters up to three years in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros.

What do you think of this law?

There has been a perversion of the law. What we have seen for years is a professionalization of “squatter job”, with advice given on the internet, key traffic. We see small owners who find themselves particularly deprived. So, this is good news for small owners but also for tenants. You don’t have to hide your face. It’s a very small minority of people, payment professionals, who play on this.

How many owners are affected by squats?

Very few are affected, but the problem is that these squatters ruin the lives of owners and tenants. An owner wants security above all else. With these kinds of practices, there are years and years of procedure and degradation. So the owner takes more and more measures, covers himself, and the young tenant struggles. Sometimes there are mechanisms that can reassure the owner, but that’s not enough. We needed a strong signal and that’s a start.

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The resolutory clause does not dispense with initiating the eviction procedure. The owner must go to court.

More than 2 million people are waiting for social housing. Doesn’t this bill mix up squatters and those who can no longer pay their rent overnight?

I travel around France and what I see is that when a tenant is in good faith, we see owners waiting. The owners are more than understanding. When we talk about solidarity, we must also see that the small owner nobody gives him a gift. Property taxes fall, insurance falls, the tax authorities know how to remember and won’t tell him not to pay because his home is squatted. No one cries over the small owner. We tell ourselves that he just has to fend for himself. It is not possible. We need strong signals. It’s a start and we’re waiting for the rest.