Faced with the difficulties faced by households in finding housing, should rent controls be introduced in the Grenoble region? The measure, rejected for the first time by the Minister of Housing in 2021, is once again in the sights of metropolitan residents. Among those demanding it: students.
By Jean-Benoît Vigny – 06:04 | updated at 22:57
The equation is simple: the metropolis has 63,500 students. Among them, according to figures from the territorial student housing observatory (OTLE), 68% no longer live with their parents, or 43,180 people. From this, we must subtract 11,470 dedicated places in the public sector (Crous, homes, etc.). Result of this short operation: there are nearly 32,000 living in private accommodation. And having to pay for it. However, notes Robinson Rossi, secretary of the Grenoble students’ union, “this year we are seeing an increase of 3.8% for an average rent of 470 euros. And you should know that not only have student incomes not increased to keep pace with inflation, but in addition, the average income of a student is 800 euros. So more than half of their resources go into housing.” An insoluble equation for many which partly explains the increase in precariousness, the queues in food distribution operations on campus and the need for nearly 40% of them to work to finance their studies, according to the observatory of student life.
Students already pay more than others…
At the OTLE, we have been examining the level of rents in the region since 2018/2019, “to observe the supply and demand for student accommodation in the Alpine region (Valence, Chambéry, Annecy, Le Bourget-du-Lac and Grenoble) , underlines its project manager Deborah Sauvignet. Until now, there was nothing federated at the national level, each territory observed it (or not) but not in a homogeneous and common way. The OTLE has chosen to focus on accommodation rented from individual to individual and notes a (more or less) surprising disparity in its first results: you have to pay on average 418 euros for a T1 “all public” but, for the same surface area , a student will have to pay €480… A difference that we also find in furnished accommodation: 20% of shared rentals exceed €900 per month, compared to 12% when there is no shared accommodation… How to explain this phenomenon ? “Students are mobile, they move around a lot, which allows the owner to increase the rent with each movement, within the limit of the IRL (rent reference index) because the territory is in a tense zone. So, overall, stable households have a slightly lower rent than mobile people. » A double penalty for young people, which is however nuanced by a Grenoble owner: “Student mobility is also a problem; they leave the accommodation regularly after six months and we end up with periods without a tenant. And then, in Grenoble, there is also the cost of the property tax…”
This is why the Grenoble students’ union and Interasso are also calling for the application of rent controls. “We are also calling for all university towns to integrate this system. Especially since we are measuring other effects of this housing crisis: with the tension, students are forced to look for accommodation quite far from their place of study, or even stay with their parents in the second or third ring. of the agglomeration. That’s so much time spent in transport where they cannot study. And travel costs. This is why we also want free transport. »
The OTLE, for its part, continues its collection of data which will feed “the local housing plan of the Metropolis and the planning of housing production”, continues Ms. Sauvignet. Which production is currently in free fall in France: from April 2022 to March 2023, the number of housing units authorized for construction stands at 441,400 housing units, or 11.5% less than during the previous twelve months. Where we were already lacking.
This year we are seeing a real increase in students who come to see us in September because they are struggling with accommodation.
Robinson Rossi, secretary of the Grenoble students’ union.
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This time, the Metropolis has good hopes of being selected
It was a strong political commitment, a desire shared by the members of the metropolitan majority who, for once, shared the same vision. But this momentum for rent control came up against the ministry. Indeed, a year after making the request, the Metropolis was challenged by the Minister of Housing in 2021. She thus estimated that the rental market was showing “no signs of tension”.
Showered but not sunk, the Metropolis renewed its request on September 30, 2022, thanks to the 3DS law, by reviewing its copy to take into account the remarks which had caused it to be refused. To refine the elements and have a better chance of being selected, the Metropolis had therefore reviewed and restricted its scope. To do this, the metropolitan services had notably identified the zones of the local rent observatory of the Grenoble region whose median rent level is higher than the median rent level observed on the scale of the observation territory (€11/ m2).
Christophe Ferrari, president of the Metropolis, has long campaigned for this system. Photo Le DL/Stéphane Pillaud
Municipalities partly concerned…
Where the initial plan concerned the private rental stock of 28 municipalities in the agglomeration, it would now only affect part of the following municipalities: Échirolles, Fontaine, Grenoble, Le Pont-de-Claix, Saint-Égrève, Saint-Martin -d’Hères, Sassenage and Seyssinet-Pariset.
…and others totally
On the other hand, all of the following towns would remain affected: Bresson, Claix, Domène, Eybens, Le Fontanil-Cornillon, Gières, Meylan, Murianette, Poisat, Seyssins, La Tronche, Varces-Allières-et- Risset and Venon.
According to our sources, the outcome should be favorable “in view of the latest discussions”. And the application could thus come into force in 2024.
In total, these zones would concern around 65,000 tenants of the private park.
The number
4,4
In the Grenoble region, a studio rents between 12.6 and 17 €/m2, a difference of 4.4 €/m2, depending on the geographical area!
A T3 rents between €9.4 and €11.5/m2, a difference of €2.1/m2.
What is rent control?
1 – Where does this measurement come from?
Rent control was created by the ALUR law of March 27, 2014 to regulate rents in urban areas with a tight rental market. It was then the Elan law of November 2018 which gave the possibility to voluntary agglomerations, the City of Paris, and the metropolises of Lyon and Aix-Marseille to re-establish rent control on an experimental basis over a period of 5 years, a period which was then extended to 8 years with the “3DS” law.
2 – What are the conditions for obtaining this supervision?
The rents concerned must be located in a so-called “tense” zone, defined as such by law. It is an area of continuous urbanization of more than 50,000 inhabitants where there is a marked imbalance between supply and demand for housing. In these areas (from Grenoble to Voiron), the control of the evolution of rents is already effective.
The Metropolis sent a second request for rent control. She is currently being trained at the ministry. Photo Le DL /Jean-Benoît Vigny
3 – Who asks for it in our territory?
On November 20, 2020, the metropolitan council voted for it by a majority and made a request to the State. It was a campaign promise that Christophe Ferrari deciphered: “It is a support system for the tenant, to check that there is no excess or abuse. »
4 – How does it work?
In practice, the supervision must not exceed by more than 20% the reference rent which will be decided by the prefect. This reference rent is the median rent (depending on location, type of housing, etc.). If a tenant notices that the thresholds have been exceeded, he is then justified in requesting a reduction in the rent, via the departmental rental relations conciliation commission.
5 – Who is affected today?
In 2023, 1,149 towns in 28 metropolitan areas may be affected since high property market rental prices make access to decent housing difficult and expensive. But, in practice, seven territories (24 municipalities) apply it: Paris, Lille, Plaine Commune, Lyon, Villeurbanne, Est Ensemble, Montpellier and Bordeaux.
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