Housing in the department is the story of a vicious cycle. In recent years, the current situation has reached a deadlock. Workers with modest means living in social housing can no longer access property ownership. Thus, their residential progression is blocked.
The social housing, which accounts for 10% of the primary residences, is at the heart of the problem. Tenants are unable to move into more adequate housing that better suits their needs and thus remain in social housing. This lack of turnover among households causes various changes in the housing landscape.
The rural exodus, in a way, is making a comeback: households are moving away from urban centers or are going directly to live in the middle or high country. These changes pose numerous difficulties. The landscape is dotted by the arrival of many families. Both the commuting time from home to work and the demand for facilities and services have increased.
Between social and economic stakes, the situation calls for a response.
A quite satisfactory response has been implemented by the Local Housing Program. The project was organized around several axes of reflection; first, to facilitate dialogue with housing applicants, the Agglomeration became, on January 1, 2007, the delegate of the State for the management and allocation of “Stone Aid.” A range of expertise that has been refined over time.
The year 2007 was ultimately a good year. It saw the launch of major projects like the urban renovation of the Moulins district and interventions in the private sector. Demonstrating its commitment to performing well, CANCA has provided the means to achieve its ambitions, offering 32.5 million euros for the production of social housing and the improvement of the stock, as well as 21 million for stone aid.
Concrete and significant aid that has enabled the creation of 2000 social housing units since June 2004 and the rehabilitation of 2300 others. (It is worth recalling that the law requires towns of more than 3,500 inhabitants to have about 20% social housing types). The other battle remains that of vacant housing. A significant scourge for the region, in this way, 100 homes have been returned to the private rental market by their owners.
The battle is far from over, new objectives will be introduced in the next phase of the Local Housing Program planned for 2009.
