HLM Congress: will the bet to build 250,000 social housing units be met? – The gallery

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It all started from‘a “challenge” launched on February 2 by the Minister of Housing. Guest of Jean-Jacques Bourdin on BFMTV-RMC, Emmanuelle Wargon offers “that we build 250,000 social housing in two years” : 120,000 in 2021 and 130,000 in 2022. In other words, catching up with the delay of 2020 marked by the health crisis and the paralysis of construction sites thanks to the billion euros released by the France Relance plan. Especially since according to government figures, only 90,000 social housing units were built last year, and 87,500 amenities [autorisations à construire délivrés par les préfets de département, Ndlr] issued, i.e. 22,500 less than in 2019, the reference year.

Consensus on the number of approved housing units in 2021

While the Congress of the Social Union for Housing (USH) opens on September 28 in Bordeaux, is the bet held? For now, the promise seems difficult to achieve. Solicited by The gallery, the Ministry of Housing communicates on the figure of 100,000 social housing approved at the end of 2021. The data is consensus among social landlords but struggles to meet them with regard to the initial objective of 120,000:

“After 124,000 approvals in 2016, 113,000 in 2017, 109,000 in 2018, 105,000 in 2019, 87,500 in 2020, we would have a rebound to 100,000,” USH director general Marianne Louis told La Tribune.

“We would need 150,000 approved social housing each year. We would be under 100,000. It would not be a good year,” says its president Emmanuelle Cosse, who recalls that there are 1.7 million applicants in France.

A difference of 1 to 10 in Île-de-France

In the French capital region, the situation is hardly better. After a year 2020 marked by only 20,119 approved social housing units, the year 2021 will again be below the target of 32,000. “We hope the 25,000 – it will always be better than in 2020 – but the account will still not be there”, underlines, with The gallery, Jean-Luc Vidon, president of the aAssociation of social housing organizations in Île-de-France (AORIF). In the Ile-de-France region, only less than 10% (60,930) of applicants (745,000) were allocated housing in 2020 …

All of them make the same observation. The three-month delay of the second round of municipal elections and the resistance of the newly elected officials and their populations to build new habitats are slowing the exit from the land of social housing. “If we want to be” cushy “, we do not set quantified objectives, but this is not responsible”, squeaks Emmanuelle Cosse, president of the Social Union for Housing and former Minister of Housing of François Hollande. “Without political will, not much will be done “, supports Jean-Luc Vidon, president of the association of social housing organizations in Île-de-France (AORIF).

€ 1.170 billion from Action Logement

The solution may come from institutional social landlords. During her announcement, Housing Minister Emmanuelle Wargon promised to put 1.5 billion euros on the table. The first to have taken out the checkbook was Action Logement. Administered by unions and employers, the former 1% has indeed released 1.170 billion euros in the first half of 2021: 920 million euros in loans and subsidies for social and intermediate housing operators and 250 million in Foncière Logement to promote social diversity and fight against substandard housing

“It is essential support for the‘new production target of 250,000 social housing units that the Minister wishes to achieve by the end of 2022 “, explained at the time. the president of Action Logement, Bruno Arcadipane, at La Tribune.

According to our information, the joint body, which had obtained 42,000 building permits issued by the departmental prefects, is targeting 46,000 approvals in 2021. Already holding 19% of the social heritage, it intends to achieve 36% of the ministerial objective of here at the end of next year.

At CDC Habitat, “premature to make a point”

The second is CDC Habitat. After launching in March 2020 a first call for expressions of interest to acquire 40,000 new homes for sale in future state of completion (VEFA), the housing subsidiary of Caisse des Dépôts committed “for the production of 42,000 social housing units in 2021 and 2022, an increase of more than 50% of its annual production compared to 2020 ” by launching a call for projects aiming at the production of 30,000 social rental housing units over two years and associating its network of partner social landlord organizations.

To date, “it is premature to make a point”, they say, but the director general of the Caisse des Dépôts, Eric Lombard, must hold a press point this Wednesday 29 at the congress of the Social Union for the habitat in Bordeaux.

A highly anticipated speech by the Prime Minister

In the meantime, Prime Minister Jean Castex is due to announce, on September 28 at 11 a.m. at this same congress, the proposals he retains from the Rebsamen report. Convinced builder, the mayor (PS) of Dijon and president of Dijon Métropole urges, in particular, the government to hold a much more offensive speech on the act of building.

Relaunching construction: what will the government do about the Rebsamen report?