Social housing: “The state must remobilize in discussions with local elected officials to implement the law”, said the president of the Social Union for Housing

“Every time an elected official does not want to provide social housing, he refuses to house carers, police officers, teachers,” condemns Emmanuelle Cosse.

“The SRU law is 20 years old, we just need everyone to enforce the law and the state to re-mobilize in discussions with local elected officials to enforce it.” said Emmanuelle Cosse, president of the Social Union for Housing, on Tuesday, November 21, on franceinfo. According to a survey by franceinfo and France Bleu, only four of the ten municipalities affected by this law, which requires 20 to 25% of social housing in the real estate fund, respect it. 1,163 municipalities in France are below the threshold.

Emmanuelle Cosse shares it “anger” when he sees it “20 years later, municipalities have succeeded in this challenge and are at the bottom of 25%, while others have not made even 1% progress, while 2.4 million households are waiting for social housing.” Faced with the arguments of mayors who do not respect the SRU law and who complain about the lack of land in their municipality, Emmanuelle Cosse replies that“There are many who have built private housing”AND “he urges everyone to look at the number of building permits issued during the year in the municipality every time”. According to the chairman of the social union for housing “every time”, these constructions were for access to real estate for second living and never for social housing.

According to David Lisnard, President of the Association of Mayors of France (AMF), the main reason for this non-compliance is lack of land which is “to become very rare”, he declared on Franceinfo on Tuesday morning.

However, Emmanuelle Cosse argues, “social housing accommodates France as it is, working on modest incomes”, which, according to the former minister for housing and sustainable habitat, represent “more than half of the French”. However, adds Emmanuelle Cosse, “every time an elected official doesn’t want to provide social housing, he refuses to house carers, police officers, teachers: these are the people who are housed in social housing. Mayors who refuse to apply the law are depriving themselves of that power,” he said. this diversity, this active population that often comes with children and allows schools to be maintained”says the chairwoman of the Social Union for Housing.