One year on from the Kasbarian-Bergé "anti-squatting" law, which toughened sanctions against squatters, a collective warned on Tuesday of "its already visible harmful effects", and feared that a new text, carried by the now Minister Guillaume Kasbarian, would be "potentially catastrophic".
The "Collectif des associations unies" (CAU), which brings together 41 housing and accommodation associations, is alarmed by a "worsening of all indicators of poor housing". The cause is the rise in precariousness, with a "sharp increase in rent arrears", coupled with the effects of the so-called "anti-squat" law, and evictions in the run-up to the Olympic Games. "Guillaume Kasbarian's track record is a disastrous law, and potentially a disastrous law to come", summarized CAU coordinator Maïder Olivier.
The year 2023 was "one of a new record", with "21,500 households evicted from their homes", up 23% year-on-year. People who until now "got a reprieve", such as the very elderly, are now being evicted. Added to this are the first effects of the Kasbarian-Bergé law enacted in July. "We are witnessing eviction decisions for (...) anecdotal rent arrears", stresses the collective, citing the example of a tenant in Seine-Saint-Denis who was 60 euros short even though she "had resumed payment of the rent".
The CAU also points to the "express evacuation" procedure without the intervention of a judge, which concerned squatted homes and is now extended "to premises that have been unoccupied for a long time, or even uninhabitable". Between May 1, 2023 and April 30, 2024, the Observatoire des expulsions de lieux de vie informels counted "1,239 evictions involving 147,785 people, including 6,756 children".
The Olympic Games have "played an accelerating role", according to the CAU, pointing out that "3,000 students were evicted from their Crous accommodation to accommodate Olympic staff". Evictions of informal living quarters in the vicinity of Olympic venues have also accelerated. On May 27, "more than 6,500 people, including 1,900 children" were sleeping rough, an increase of 40% since January.
Against this backdrop, Wednesday's examination by the Senate committee of the bill introduced by Guillaume Kasbarian is worrying "because of its many harmful aspects". The most contentious aspect is the reform of the Solidarité et renouvellement urbain (SRU) law, which would allow certain towns that have not met their social housing quotas to integrate intermediate housing (LLI) to catch up. However, "LLI rents are (...) frequently 1,500 or even 2,000 euros a month", point out the associations, who see this as "an all-out attack on social housing".
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