The National Assembly voted on Tuesday in first reading on the Duflot bill on housing, whose two key measures, the universal rent guarantee and its regulation, are causing strong divisions, while other provisions are more consensual.

The text was adopted by 312 votes in favor, 197 against, and 44 abstentions. The UMP voted against, the UDI and the Left Front abstained for different reasons, as did the two National Front members, while the Socialists, Greens, and Radical Left voted in favor.

This Alur bill (Access to housing and renovated urban planning), presented by Housing Minister Cécile Duflot and soon to be examined in the Senate, was fiercely debated last week in the chamber in a generally calm atmosphere, without the 270 amendments adopted profoundly changing its content.

The legislation establishes a Universal Rent Guarantee (GUL) by January 1, 2016, which will protect landlords against unpaid rent by replacing the security deposit. The precise financing method remains to be determined but is expected to be based on a contribution, paid equally by landlords and tenants, of between 1% and 2% of the rent.

It also regulates rents in high-demand areas, where demand far exceeds the housing supply. Each year, prefects will set a median reference rent, increased by 20%, by decree, which landlords cannot exceed, as well as a minimum rent (30% lower than the median rent) below which they can request an increase.

Furthermore, the 86 articles of the bill, or even 150 if we include the numerous "bis" and "ter" articles, fundamentally reform many aspects of housing policy, particularly by modifying the rules governing co-ownership. For example, property managers will be required to open a separate account for each property under their management.

Another important aspect of the text, the fight against unsanitary housing, was the subject of a consensus in the chamber, in particular the ban on slum landlords already convicted for unfit housing from buying real estate for re-letting for five years.

In terms of urban planning, a large part of the powers will be transferred from municipalities to inter-municipal bodies.

In this area, the bill eliminates floor area ratios in order to increase density in suburban housing areas and boost housing production. Conversely, in rural areas, it provides for the reclassification of certain areas slated for development as natural zones.

The UMP, explained MP Jean-Marie Tetard in the National Assembly on Tuesday, affirms its "total opposition" to a bill that seeks to "bring private rental housing into the sphere of the centrally planned economy" and "will discourage investment" in this sector. Former Housing Minister Benoist Apparu, who had frequently spoken out against the bill during the debate, had nevertheless personally declared his support for inter-municipal local urban development plans.

This project, in the eyes of Michel Piron (UDI), "alternates between the worst mistakes and the best." Among the former is the rent control, "economically absurd, socially dangerous, and unjust," while the positive elements include the provisions on urban planning and co-ownership. As for the GUL (Guaranteed Urban Housing), the UDI "supports the principle but opposes the mechanism." The mayor of Neuilly, Jean-Christophe Fromantin, was the only UDI member to vote against it; the others abstained.

For its part, the Left Front fears that rent control will lead to an increase for some tenants and is strongly opposed to the measures on inter-municipal cooperation, which Communist MP André Chassaigne described as "imposed by force." However, it approves of the Gul (General Housing Law).

Both environmentalists and left-wing radicals said they voted for the bill "with enthusiasm." "Let's not hide our delight," declared environmentalist François de Rugy, praising the merits of a text drafted by a minister from his party, while left-wing radical Jacques Krabal welcomed a "balanced" reform.

This balance was also highlighted by the socialist Christophe Borgel, who emphasized the "proactive" nature of a project "in a sector where disorder has been allowed to develop for too long.".

Source: Le Point