French housing consultation results

A real estate agency network in France, led by Guillaume Martinaud, president of the Orpi network, has proposed four housing policy reforms based on a citizen consultation involving 16,348 participants who submitted 1,053 proposals and cast 178,362 votes. The consultation, conducted with Make.org from April 7 to May 28, aimed to identify solutions for facilitating home purchase and rental.

Key policy proposals outlined

The network's proposals include the establishment of États Généraux du Logement (General Housing Assembly), the adoption of a comprehensive framework law to stabilize housing rules for at least five years, the revision of Local Urban Planning Schemes (PLU) around essential rules, and the shift to declarative procedures for transforming office spaces. The stated goal is to reduce the time required to complete housing projects from seven years to three years.

Call for centralized housing policy

Martinaud emphasized the need to centralize housing policy, bringing together all ministries and partners, and criticized the current treatment of housing as a fragmented issue. He called for a move away from ideological positions to restore confidence in property owners and address the shortage of available properties for rent.

Proposed legal and financial measures

The network also requests the creation of a private landlord status allowing depreciation of properties at a rate of 4% per year, along with legal security for property owners against non-payment and simplified remedies for tenants facing substandard housing. These measures aim to make property ownership more predictable and manageable for both landlords and tenants.

Target for housing production

To address the housing deficit, Orpi sets a target of 450,000 homes produced or mobilized per year, involving relaunching new construction, transforming vacant tertiary offices, and bringing back to the market properties blocked by the DPE schedule. Martinaud stated that the network will raise the voice of housing without euphemisms and on all fronts in the next seven months, emphasizing that housing is the condition for social peace, purchasing power, and the cohesion of territories.