Residents face extreme heat in homes

Residents of overheated housing in France are facing unbearable temperatures during heatwaves, leading to increased mobilizations and collective actions. According to one report, temperatures during the June 2026 heatwave did not drop below 30 °C, day or night, in some areas.

Tenant advocates fight for better conditions

Michelle Audrin, a retired history teacher and tenant in Aubervilliers, has been fighting for eight years to defend tenants' rights against institutional mistreatment. She has installed blackout curtains and window protections to combat the heat in her apartment, which lacks shutters and controlled mechanical ventilation (VMC).

Heat and pests worsen living conditions

Fadila Adib, a municipal employee in Paris and member of Locataires ensemble, also experienced extreme temperatures in her social housing, which approached 40 °C due to broken shutters and a faulty VMC. She noted that four people left the residence as a result of the heatwave. The presence of rats and mice in the apartments added to the unsanitary conditions, prompting her brother-in-law to install a mosquito net on the kitchen window.

Tenants seek solutions from authorities

In June 2026, for the first time in six years, their syndicate was received by the city council and the Aubervilliers Public Housing Office (OPH). They presented their problems facing climate change and urgently requested the installation of air circulators, VMCs, and shutters for the most vulnerable people.

Heatwave causes high mortality

According to one report, the region of Île-de-France experienced the highest excess mortality from June 17 to July 2, 2026, with 81 % additional deaths according to Santé publique France. The risks are increased in cities due to the urban heat island effect, where materials like cement and asphalt absorb and release heat, making urban areas significantly hotter, especially at night.

Homes are major sites of heat-related deaths

In the city as well as in the countryside, housing remains the place where the most people die from the heat. According to the national health agency, deaths at home from June 22 to 28 increased by 91 %, the highest increase, ahead of the Ehpad (+ 37 %) and health facilities (+ 19.7 %). These deaths concern not only the oldest people but all age groups, with the highest increase in mortality, 55 %, concerning those aged 45-65.

Many homes lack heat protection

A study published in 2026 by the Foundation for the housing of the disadvantaged (formerly the Abbé Pierre Foundation) draws a worrying picture: in France, one out of two homes does not protect against strong heat and can be classified as a « thermal boiler ». According to one report, the temperature inside some homes can significantly exceed the maximum external temperature at the peak of a heatwave, and the effects of the temperature inside homes on the risk of hyperthermia, heat stroke, hospitalization, and death have been insufficiently studied, even though exposure to heat in the home is the cause of more than half of these events.

Regulations lag behind the crisis

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends not exceeding 26 °C at night and between 28 and 30 °C during the day in homes. These thresholds are found in the Environmental Regulation 2020 (RE2020), which has regulated the construction of new buildings in France since 2022. However, « in the law, there is no clear definition of a "thermal boiler" », says Fabien Hue, spokesperson for Locataires ensemble.

Residents organize to combat heat

In Paris, under the roofs of housing transformed into ovens, parents of students, teachers, and the collective Dernier étage, composed of people living under the roofs, have gathered under the banner of « Tomorrow 50 degrees ». The idea is to test and disseminate individual and collective solutions to protect residents from extreme heat waves.

Community efforts grow after heatwave

Two meetings, in Paris and Lyon, brought together respectively 200 and 150 people after the June heatwave, with the aim of going back over what each person experienced and thinking about collective solutions to implement. A study, carried out in July 2025 by Locataires ensemble and Territoire zéro logement malade (TeZeLoMa), reveals that, out of 2 000 homes observed in Lyon, 62 % of windows did not have effective solar protections (shutters, blinds, etc.), and that nearly a quarter lost these protections over time « to save the cost of their maintenance », particularly in the rental stock.

Mobilizations lead to financial commitments

Last year, Locataires ensemble joined the protests of the residents of the building on the rue du Lac, in the Part-Dieu district in Lyon, where the majority of homes belong to a subsidiary of the Crédit agricole. This year, after a strong mobilization to address the elected officials, the Compagnie foncière lyonnaise (CFL) finally released, by the end of June, one million euros to equip part of its rental stock with shutters and ceiling fans.

Legal and financial progress

These recent events come a few weeks after the launch of the petition « No shutters, no rent! », supported by Locataires ensemble, the Housing Foundation, and the association Droit au logement (DAL) and signed by nearly 58 000 people. Their demand ? A « right to renovation » that would involve deducting from the rent the amount necessary for renovation work « if the owners refuse to carry out the work themselves », supports Fabien Hue.

Tenant groups see progress

In Aubervilliers, Michelle Audrin and Fadila Adib have had 340 notices of demand signed to their social landlord. After six years of struggle, they were finally heard in early September: the OPH has committed to carrying out an energy audit of its entire stock and to equipping most of the homes lacking shutters. And, as a cherry on the cake for Michelle, a room will be made available by the social landlord in early 2027 for their tenant meetings. « Six years is long, but the struggle pays off. »