“When it fell, everyone was in complete astonishment.” As if stunned by the amount claimed. Françoise Friez, a retiree from Lyon, had the unpleasant surprise of receiving a receipt from her social landlord Grand Lyon Habitat, informing her in mid-November of a regularization of heating charges. The result is a more than salty addition. “They are asking me for 1,437 euros,” she summarizes, specifying that she is not “the most to be pitied”: “For those who live in a T4, the amount amounts to 1,600 euros. » A real blow.
“I had already paid 1,346 euros in provisional charges in 2022,” she says, with supporting letters. This amounts to almost 2,800 euros of heating for the year, knowing that at the same time the rent has been increased by 3.5%. » There is a lack of understanding, especially since in previous years, the charges were lower: 1,182 euros in 2021, according to the statements we were able to consult. That’s an increase of almost 400% in one year.
“Even by spreading out the samples, it will be impossible”
“We expected an increase of 30% but not in these proportions,” summarizes Françoise who receives 1,800 euros monthly pension, also believing that the lessor failed to anticipate. In his building, located in the Montchat district, few tenants escape punishment. Although Grand Lyon Habitat has proposed spreading the debt over one year, many will find themselves in significant energy poverty, underlines the retiree. And to worry: “One of my neighbors, who lives in a very poorly heated apartment, is already 120 euros overdrawn when she has finished paying her bills. And still, she didn’t eat. There, he is asked for 1,090 euros. It is a disaster. How will she do it? »
A question that Randa, 37, a mother of four who lives in social housing located in the Brotteaux district (6th arrondissement), also asks herself. She will have to pay an additional 825 euros even though she has already advanced more than 1,000 euros. Suffering from fibromyalgia, she was declared a work accident and is struggling to make ends meet. “Even if the samples are spread out, it will be impossible,” she laments, deploring the lack of information. “We were not warned, we received this letter like that,” she denounces. If again, the apartment was healthy but that is not the case. It is unsanitary. »
In his 68 square meter T4 dating from 1959, the thermometer barely reaches 18 degrees. In one of the rooms that she called “the morgue”, the temperature stagnated at 11 degrees, due to a malfunction in the heating system. In the photos sent, traces of humidity and mold invade the walls. “I’ve been complaining for two years and nothing changed until the press started talking about it.”
“It’s four times more than the previous year”
Unlike Randa, Nassera lives in a recent building. A social residence built in 2012 not far from the Tête d’Or park. “But there are plenty of flaws,” she emphasizes. And this year, the charges have exploded for her too. “I had already provisioned 430 euros, I am being asked for 860 euros in regularization. Which amounts to a bill of 1,290 euros per year, explains this retiree. This is four times more than the previous year (329 euros).”
“I have never refused to pay, but if at least we solved our problems,” she insists. She nicknamed her apartment “the cold storage center”. “For ten years, I had 10 degrees at home in winter due to a faulty central boiler. Technicians came four times but could do nothing. » After clearing the circuit in the fall, the temperature rose “to 20 degrees in the living room and 18 degrees in the bedrooms”.
“I don’t want to be a bad face, but paying such disproportionate amounts of money when we weren’t even heated makes me sad,” says Nassera. And added: “Unfortunately I am not the only one, one of my neighbors has to pay more than 1,200 additional euros”. That’s five times more than the previous year.
According to the union confederation of families, “13,000 tenants” of Grand Lyon Habitat were asked for “historic” amounts ranging from “300 to 1,600 euros”. “And this, despite two successive increases in provisions for heating costs, in 2022 and 2023, the announced objective of which was precisely to avoid excessive regularizations”, supports its president Jean-Pierre Ottaviani, pointing out a “management error lessor’s forecast”. What the person concerned denies.
A fatal peak
“In March 2022, we initiated discussions with tenant representatives and we agreed on an increase in provisions capped at 40% to deal with this situation,” responds Jean-Noël Freixinos, general manager of Grand Lyon Habitat. But this was before the peak of inflation, which took place between August and October 2022, and during which gas prices increased sixfold compared to 2021. This revaluation, considered important at the time by “the associations ultimately proved insufficient, as they were unable to anticipate this peak.”
Another factor, the price shield “put in place late” for collective heating turned out to be “less protective than the shields for individual heating”, observes Jean-Noël Freixinos. Despite the sobriety measures put in place to cushion the shock (-19% consumption), the bill has exploded. It amounted to 12.4 million euros in 2022, compared to 8.9 million in 2021. A record.
“We assume this responsibility by doing everything possible to limit the effects for its tenants,” assures the lessor. We go door to door to 4,500 most affected households, presenting them with the most appropriate solutions for paying their receipt or directing them to obtain financial assistance. We also advised them to take eco-responsible actions. » An emergency fund of 100,000 euros was specially created in 2023 and will be renewed in 2024.
“We will have to double this fund”, estimates for its part the trade union confederation of families which today calls on the metropolis of Lyon to “provide emergency financial aid to landlords”.