The announcement of the list of 36 communities “reluctant to construct social housing,” nearly half of which are in the PACA region (including no less than 3 in the Alpes Maritimes alone), has not gone without political repercussions.
Once again, as the Alpes Maritimes are being criticized for their political inaction, ecologists are pointing fingers at those responsible: “This alarming disproportion demonstrates the lack of local political will to regulate the housing market. The state has already intervened in Vence to compensate for the local inaction and purchase land, in place of the municipality which is not fulfilling its role,” say Laurent Lanquar, co-leader of the departmental list for the Cooperative Region in the Alpes Maritimes, and Mari-Luz Nicaise, regional spokesperson, in unison.
The analysis is without condescension: “Our local politicians are doing nothing to facilitate housing for the residents of the Maralpins in their territory. It is unacceptable. We are experiencing unfair competition here because of the tourist clientele and second homes, which have an incomparable purchasing power compared to local workers. Even our children will no longer be able to find housing in their own area. The housing market situation also prevents a vibrant workforce from properly settling in our territory and impoverishes our economy.”
A sad observation: Today, it is more profitable to rent an apartment for two months a year to tourists than to house a family of workers, thus leaving apartments empty for 10 months a year and reducing the city’s activity and the resources of the tourism and hospitality economy.
Laurent Lanquar therefore proposes to undertake a “Marshall Plan” to promote the “3L” Rental Housing for Locals, for which he proposes 3 axes:
- Preemption of housing with no succession to allocate it to social housing;
Tax measures favoring primary residences over secondary homes across the entire department;
“Urban land enhancement” by the Regional Public Land Establishment (EPFR) to build mixed housing in already urbanized areas, ensured through a “land tangram” approach utilizing the right of preemption and expropriation.
For him, “land enhancement” should not be reserved solely for private real estate development and should be applied to mixed housing operations (with a minimum of 20% to a maximum of 50% public housing), through a cooperation of all local authorities concerned with housing policies (Municipalities, Intercommunalities, Department, Region).
