A bill from a group of socialist deputies, led by Iñaki Echaniz, a Basque elected official, has just been tabled in the National Assembly and approved by its economic affairs committee, aiming “to regain confidence in rental relationships”… Behind this ambitious title, which suggests an overhaul of the 1989 law or – who knows?, civil measures in favor of landlords, supplementing the tax status that the Senate has just given it -, it does not it is only a matter of making it definitive and extending it to all tense areas if local elected officials decide so. control of residential rents in our country. In passing, the authors extend to coliving the device, or even make it compulsory to mention of possible rent supplement And increase the fines for non-compliance with supervision, which would also be perceived in the future by the municipalities. The framework could also apply to all or part of a municipality. We also note the constraint placed on the owner of now motivate leave systematically.
This text, which was the subject of very few amendments from the central bloc during its examination in committee, essentially poses several problems. We are therefore initially tempted to find it pragmatic to refer to the municipalities the choice ofregulate rents in their territorypossibly even with a finer mesh, at the level of a district, or even in the event of a decision by the public establishment of intermunicipal cooperation at a broader level than just the central city. The bill, by allowing such deliberations to concern all municipalities where rents are under pressure, neglects that politics could prevail over the calm assessment of the rental market situation. Of course, it is rather in important cities that the mayor and his majority would like to make the ideology prevail, but we can already see which cities would fall into this logic, cities in particular whose city councilor is not without a national political destiny. Marseille or Bordeaux are good examples, Rennes perhaps or Nantes.
What criteria should be set to regulate rents?
Without a doubt, measuring the dysfunction of a market will never be better than up close. At least each tense municipality should have a reliable, objective observatory, involving local management professionals, owners and tenant associations, with the guarantee of ADIL. This is not the case today, far from it, and this work of statistical mesh is considerable. Another way to reduce the risk of politicization is to set criteria for installing a rent controland this is precisely the case to date, with four clear conditions and control by the government of their compliance (heavy imbalance between rental supply and demand, large gap in average rent between private housing and social housing, high median rent, low rate of new housing started and limited production prospects in the local housing plan). In addition, a decree in the Council of State is necessary. If we could do without the decree, a screening analysis remains essential and a posteriori control must be able to be carried out.
Furthermore, how can we understand that landlords who are virtuous in terms of increasing the energy performance of their homes, and who undertake work there, do not benefit from any recognition in terms of relaxation of supervision? A sort of energy bonus could be createdand it would catalyze the desire for environmental improvement of rental properties, without a doubt.
The risk of exasperating investors and citizens
Finally, there is the choice of time : while the tax status of the investor shaped by the Senate, still subject to many political hypothecations, was voted on at a minimum, accompanied by various constraints for the lessor, Is it appropriate to supervise so much and more? We are justified in equipping a powerful vehicle with powerful brakes. However, if the fiscal vehicle being created is not without breath, we will agree that it is not a racing car. The risk that investors will judge this political strategy to be indecent is real.
At that point, she will come put an end to efforts to revive private rental investment. A little perspective on the part of our public decision-makers would not do any harm. By wanting to tackle all the problems simultaneously, without overall consideration or concern to achieve priorities, we exasperate the population.
Agitation is not action.
Please, let the executive and parliament be obsessed with the recovery of France, to which housing can contribute, rather than implementing an impressionist policy… which no longer impresses anyone.
