Unpaid rent: the Assembly votes for a universal guarantee financed by a tax on owners

The National Assembly’s finance committee adopted an amendment to the draft budget for 2025 which creates a universal rent guarantee.

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If you are owner lessor, “the GUL” probably means something to you. Ten years ago, the law for access to housing and renovated town planning (Alur) created the universal rent guarantee, which was to ensure property owners a minimum payment of rent in the event of non-payment by tenants. But the GUL, which was to be free for both the owner and the tenant, was never put in place, due to lack of an implementing decree. The member of the Ecologist and Social group Danielle Simonnet did not fail to remind us of this, Monday November 4, by defending a amendment At finance bill (PLF) for 2025 which proposes the establishment of such a rental guarantee. “This is a public rental guarantee system, allowing owners to be compensated when their tenants find themselves in arrears”developed the member for Paris.

A measure that she judges “urgent”in view of rental evictions which are “increasing». “A record for the number of rental evictions has been broken, with 21,500 households evicted from their homes in 2023 according to the Ministry of Housing, a figure up 23% compared to 2022”worries Danielle Simonnet. She hopes “reverse this trend” with the universal rental guarantee, “which could be financed by a contribution (from landlords) representing 2 to 2.5% of their rental income”. Indeed, “according to a report from the General Inspectorate of Finance, this measure would cost up to 994 million euros”recognizes the parliamentarian. His colleague from the National Rally Frédéric Falcon denounced a “bad idea”fearing that “the creation of a new tax, of 2 to 2.5% of rents, will undermine owners, who will withdraw their properties from the rental market”.

Visale, a guarantee with too narrow a scope

No more enthusiastic, MP François Jolivet (Horizons), special budget rapporteur to the finance committee of the National Assembly, issued an unfavorable opinion on this amendmentrecalling the existence of the Visale guarantee, which “gives complete satisfaction”. Managed by the Action Logement organization, Visale guarantees the payment of rent and charges to the owner in the event of default by the tenant but in very specific cases. It is not universal, unlike the GUL project. The tenant must be between 18 and 30 years old. If he is over 30 years old, he can benefit from Visale only if he is an employee in the private sector and does not earn more than 1,500 euros net per month, or if he is on a professional transfer (on a permanent contract during the period trial, on a fixed-term contract for less than six months, with a promise of employment or transfer).

A field “far too restricted”denounced the socialist deputy Inaki Echaniz, supporting Danielle Simonnet’s amendment. An amendment which was adopted by the Assembly’s finance committee. It remains to be seen whether it will survive the examination of the PLF in public session, especially if the government does without the vote of Parliament by resorting to article 49.3 of the Constitution.