He rented five unworthy boxes fitted out in an apartment bought for 2,000 euros, in one of the most degraded condominiums in Marseille: an owner was sentenced on Wednesday to three years in prison, two of which were suspended.
He will also have to pay a fine of 20,000 euros for having subjected his tenants to unworthy accommodation conditions. Smail Meraimi, 55, who presents himself as a former university professor of Islamic sciences in Algeria, had bought in 2019 three apartments in Parc Corot, a set of degraded buildings, including a 60 m² damaged by a fire on the 9th floor for 2,000 euros.
Five rooms mounted with partitions
He had installed five rooms mounted with partitions, according to the prosecutor Guillaume Bricier, rented between 100 and 300 euros per month. The sanitary facilities and toilets had been moved to the closed balcony, causing major leaks.
The electrical panel was compared by one speaker to a “giant power strip”. Rats, cockroaches, humidity, a stove placed on the floor in a bedroom… The municipal hygiene services mentioned “an apartment as execrable as it is unworthy”.
A tenant, who had already lived on the street, paid 195 euros per month for a box of 10 m². The owner also directly received a supplement from the Family Insurance Fund.