A mother and her two children are threatened with eviction from the social housing they occupy, in a residence in Viols-le-Fort (Hérault). The social landlord, FDI Habitat, launched this procedure after being informed that the tenant had sublet her apartment on Airbnb. It was a neighbor who notified the services of FDI Habitat.
The tenant assures that she did not know that it was prohibited. HAS Free lunch, this specialized educator says that she took this step “to offer a canyoning outing” to her children. “It’s an infernal gear,” she testifies. It’s disproportionate. I recognize that I made a mistake, but there could have been a reminder of the law. »
“The rights and dignity [de la locataire] are flouted”
A petition to support this family has been opened on the Change.org platform. (here). More than 430 people had signed it this Thursday afternoon. For the person, anonymous, who launched it, the expulsion is a disproportionate sanction. Should it “serve as an example?” she wonders. “We think not! We are a support collective, because the rights and dignity” of the tenant “are flouted by a justice system that has not been able to appreciate the seriousness of the breach and the relevance of an eviction”.
It is “unacceptable”, deplores the social landlord
Solicited by 20 minutesBertrand Guyot, the director of rental management at FDI Habitat, recalls that it is strictly forbidden to sublet one’s accommodation, “in addition to one’s social housing, which is housing subsidized by state aid”.
“It is clearly stipulated in the rental contract, and when you place an advertisement on these platforms, it is clearly indicated that it is absolutely necessary to obtain the agreement of the lessor, and that it is not possible to to propose [à la location] social housing. The tenant acted knowing the risks she was running. “If, tomorrow, as a social landlord, “we are lax, continues Bertrand Guyot, the tenants will say to themselves “Good, we are going to start subletting our accommodation!” This is all the more unacceptable as we are in a particularly tense sector, where the demand for social housing is very high. There are people who are waiting for theirs, and who are in difficulty. »
But, assures the rental manager at FDI Habitat, the family will not be expelled at the end of the winter break, “as we read and we hear”, he indicates. ” It’s wrong. These are very long procedures. She will not be expelled overnight. Especially since the tenant appealed this decision. At FDI Habitat, it is not excluded, however, that another solution may be found. A heavy fine, for example. “It’s a path that we are going to explore,” indicates Bertrand Guyot. We will see if it is possible, between eviction from housing and pardon, to find an intermediate solution. “A minimum, a fine up to” all the costs that we incur, continues the representative of FDI Habitat. Because it is a long, tedious and expensive procedure. »