HLMs decide to sell their heritage

More than 70 social landlords have responded to the call … In the basket, some 11,000 homes, they are ready to sell via the National Sales Organization (ONV) to which the Elan law, promulgated on November 24, comes to give life. This structure managed by Action Logement will operate from January 2019 as a real estate company: " We buy back the buildings from those who want to sell them to us, we pay them immediately so that the organizations can reinvest by rebuilding other homes. The success of our call for expression of interest shows that we have overcome frontal and ideological frictions "Says Bruno Arbouet, Director General of Action Logement

Incentive for sale

The law encourages the sale of social housing with the objective of selling 1% of the park, ie 45,000 houses or apartments each year. Their tenants can buy them, as well as their descendants, other tenants of the social park and, only if the housing is empty, other private individuals, without condition of resource. The article in the Elan bill which foresaw the possible arrival of private investment companies in the sector was finally not retained.

Until recently, many elected officials and donors opposed the very idea of ​​selling, which explains why the scores have never exceeded 6,000 to 7,000 lots per year. Because the interest of these disposals is not obvious: the mayors can lose the balance between their private and social park under the law SRU, the HLM organisms have everything to gain to preserve the part of their amortized inheritance and who reports; nor are they inclined to manage condominiums. Finally tenants can not always – or sometimes do not want – to become homeowners …

" We allow donors to outsource difficulties, this is probably why organizations that sell nothing. We may also have to imagine helpers to help tenants who are hesitant to buy ". " The diet imposed on the sector since the end of 2017 forces it to find a new economic equilibrium, the sale of which is now part of Yannick Borde, real estate network president Procivis

All for sale, but not all bought

Will these homes be sold? Action Logement has 4 billion euros to buy them but will make its choice, because the ONV does not intend to resell them at a loss: 24% of the buildings proposed to the property are located in Ile-de-France. -France, 17% in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, 13% in New Aquitaine, between 6 and 8% in Center-Val de Loire, in Burgundy in Franche Comté, in the Grand Est and the Hauts-de-France, which does not say if it is large bars, single-family homes or small apartment buildings in the city center. " Houses in rural areas will probably sell well, the tall buildings of the 1970s, it is less safe. In any case, the target quantities are totally unrealistic ", Continues Yannick Borde.

The sale of a home theoretically allows to finance two or three by playing on the lever of the loan, but everything depends where, and not necessarily in tight zone, where the needs are greatest.

Catherine Sabbah