The subject of converting office space into housing is back in the spotlight. The pugnacious Minister for Housing, Valérie Létard, scripted her announcements during a visit to one of the rare conversion operations in Rueil-Malmaison.
Nothing new under the sun. The French Minister for Housing has pulled out of her hat most of the measures set out in the bill proposed by MP Romain Daubié. This bill was unanimously adopted at the time. That was almost a year ago.
What measures does the Minister propose?
Classic tax measures. Here, an exemption from office tax for owners who submit a building permit with a view to conversion. Here, a special development tax for local authorities to finance the public infrastructure needed to welcome new residents. This is often an argument put forward by town councillors to avoid conversion.
Pragmatic, with a relaxation of town-planning rules. In theory, it will be possible to authorize a change of use from office to residential, even if this is not provided for in the local town planning scheme. After all, if the PLU is not enforceable, it can be bent the other way for once.
There's more concrete action too, with the launch of a call for expressions of interest in the Île-de-France region. The enthusiasm of the new prefect of Hauts-de-Seine suggests that the playground will most certainly be around La Défense, where the State seems to have become aware of the issue of the future of the business district and its immediate surroundings.
And, this being France, there's always a need to rely on working groups - two in this case - to remove the financial and normative obstacles that everyone has been identifying for ages.
But let's not be pimply. Even if the government is doing a minimum service on the subject, this initiative is to be welcomed, as it comes at a key moment for real estate players. It marks a change of perspective on the part of the executive, who has too often dismissed real estate as a rent-seeking activity, without ever considering whether it could be an industry in its own right.
The last straw for an activity that accounts for over 10% of GDP and represents more than two million jobs that cannot be relocated.