Oral question no. 0517S from
Ms Annick Jacquemet
(Doubs – UC)
published in the JO Senate of 03/16/2023 – page 1782
Ms. Annick Jacquemet draws the attention of the Minister Delegate to the Minister for Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion, responsible for cities and housing, to the unequal treatment of social housing tenants faced with the costs of housing. ‘energy.
Since 2016, social housing organizations no longer benefit from the regulated tariff for the purchase of gas and electricity. They therefore buy their energies in the markets. Organizations in Bourgogne-Franche-Comt were led to sign new energy contracts in the second half of 2022, at the height of the energy crisis since the end of 2021. Gas prices were multiplied by 4 and those of electricity more than doubled.
The social landlords concerned have integrated and anticipated the tariff shield (since its ceiling value varies each month) and sought to limit the increase in charge provisions as accurately as possible, while implementing ambitious sobriety plans to support their major performance work. energy of their heritage.
A first tariff shield (BT) set up in 2022 for gas and from 2023 for electricity limits energy price increases to 15%, for consumers subject to the regulated tariff (i.e. 70% of the population) . Then, for social housing organizations having taken out an energy contract in the second half of 2022, the Government set up a second tariff shield according to a new method of calculation but which only covers a small part of the increase in prices. This second tariff shield aims to reduce the contractual price by the difference between the BT ceiling (variable non-frozen regulation tariff) and its floor (frozen regulation tariff).
Tenants of accommodation equipped with collective heating will therefore not benefit from the increase limited to 15%. They will therefore have to pay more sums than they could have understood. This will lead to budgetary difficulties, even unpaid bills and situations of bad living, unhappiness and reinforce the feeling of relegation, the buildings equipped with collective heating being mainly located in priority districts of the city policy. This constitutes a real inequality of treatment between citizens.
At the same time, faced with the drop in tariffs at the start of 2023, the Government had announced that energy suppliers who had signed “unbearable price contracts” in the second half of 2022 would be encouraged to review their contracts. To date, this announcement has unfortunately remained without effect.
Tomorrow, if the geopolitical and economic context remains uncertain, all social landlords will have to renew their gas and electricity contracts, which, through contractual clauses inserted by prudent energy suppliers, may be subject to sharp increases.
Finally, it should be remembered that on July 1, 2023, due to the extinction of regulated gas prices, tenants of accommodation equipped with individual gas heating will be exposed to the same situation.
Also, insofar as social landlords apply regulated rent levels and in order to take into account the budgetary fragility of social housing tenants, it asks that a reflection on a social energy tariff be launched in the most as soon as possible, or at least that the regulated tariff be reintroduced for the entire stock of social housing, without any distinction.
In addition, it wishes to know whether an adaptation with retroactive effect from 1 January 2023 of the collective heating tariff shield in social housing, both for gas and for electricity, allowing tenants not to have to pay more for their heating than the other citizens is provided.
Awaiting a response from the Minister to the Minister for Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion, in charge of cities and housing.
