The vote took place this Wednesday evening at the board of directors of the Public Housing Office (OPH) of Bobigny, in a tense climate. A majority of administrators have approved the exemption from rents for the month of April (excluding charges) for the 4,000 households in the social housing stock. Objective: to help low-income families impacted by confinement.
“The meeting took place in a very tense atmosphere. The representative of the prefect took it all in the head when she tried to express her point of view, ”indicates an elected representative of the National Housing Confederation (CNL, representing tenants).
Notable fact: the president of the OPH, Jonathan Berrebi, member of the municipal majority, voted in favor of the exemption. The latter – who did not wish to answer our questions – had yet expressed serious doubts about the merits of this measure, in a letter to tenants in April. In particular, he mentioned the complicated financial situation of the OPH, in the midst of a recovery plan.
The city will donate € 800,000
Arrived “late, head down” according to one of the participants, he seems to have stayed behind during the meeting, leaving the outgoing mayor Stéphane De Paoli (UDI) to present the deliberation himself. “We asked Mr. Berrebi several times what he thought of the measure, but he evaded the question,” said an administrator.
The deliberation voted on Wednesday evening act, according to the document which Le Parisien has taken cognizance of, an “exemption from the rents for the month of April received by the OPH” in the form of “a refund of the sums paid by the tenants”. She specifies that the city of Bobigny is committed to paying an “exceptional subsidy of € 800,000” to the office by the end of June. “This represents nearly two-thirds of the funding for this measure, which amounts to just over 1.3 million euros,” says Christian Bartholmé, 1st deputy (UDI) also candidate for municipal elections.
The deliberation was voted by a majority of administrators… but without the votes of the CGT administrator, representatives of CAF and Action Logement, who abstained. The general manager of the OPH, who usually attends the board of directors, was absent from the meeting.
CNL representatives for their part refused to take part in the vote, denouncing an “operation which is more akin to electoral propaganda than a measure of real solidarity for the tenants”.
“The cost of this exemption will necessarily be passed on elsewhere”
On the side of the CGT, we are also indignant. “The tenants say to themselves: great, we’re not going to pay. Except that they will pay anyway, since the cost of this exemption will necessarily be reflected elsewhere, on charges, maintenance, ”storms Nadia Giunta, union delegate within the OPH.
