Date of label : 29/10/2024
A modern residential building.
Summary
Private condominiums created within a local framework for the co-ownership of housing (ORCOD-IN), in four neighbourhoods in Clichy-sous-Bois, Grigny, Mantes-laJolie, and Villepinte (FR), suffer from financial and technical difficulties as well as substandard housing and degraded public spaces.
The urban renewal actions undertaken by the Etablissement public foncier d’Île-de-France (EPFIF) consist of:
- The most run-down condominiums demolished or transformed into social housing, public facilities refurbished, and public spaces improved and greened.
- Improvement and diversification of the economic and commercial fabric.
- Methodological support and grants to the condominiums to remediate financial difficulties and improve energy efficiency.
- Social support to owner-occupiers to help them deal with indebtedness, administrative problems, as well as rehousing in social housing if needed.
The solutions offered by the Good Practice
The work undertaken by the EPFIF in the four neighbourhoods is defined in agreements signed by local governments, the State, and State agencies. The four projects, selected as part of the New National Urban Renewal Programme (NPNRU), are making good progress. This is thanks to partnership-based governance organised around a steering committee with the prefects, mayors and the EPFIF, and other partners such as the National Housing Agency (Anah), the National Agency for Urban Regeneration (ANRU), social housing organisations, and the regional health agency.
By April 2024:
- EPFIF had acquired 2 555 of the more than 4 000 flats to be acquired, almost 60% of the target.
- 640 households had been rehoused in social housing, in flats adapted to their needs and resources. Rehousing has taken place across the Ile de France, allowing households to live closer to work or family.
- The EPFIF is in charge of 41 safeguard plans for run-down condominiums, to facilitate methodological support and grants for the refurbishment and energy efficiency work.
- Three concentrated development zones (ZACs) have been created to enable the implementation of comprehensive urban projects.
Axes for improvement include:
- Better coordination between the works undertaken within the private spaces of the condominiums and public spaces (fencing, water and sanitation networks).
- Development of short-term actions to quickly improve living conditions in the condominiums and neighbourhoods, without waiting for the long-term in-depth transformations.
Building on the sustainable and integrated urban approach
The four neighbourhoods tackle all three dimensions of integrated urban development. Socio-economic and environmental impact evaluations were conducted prior to the implementation of the projects, and taken into account in their design to reduce negative impacts, enhance positive impacts, and adapt them to the local context.
Environmental:
- Retrofitting existing condominiums, achieving 35% reduction of energy consumption.
- Protecting and improving natural spaces in the neighbourhoods.
- Greening of public spaces.
- Demolishing concrete slabs to create open-ground areas favourable to biodiversity and reduce the urban heat effect.
- Implementing alternative rainwater management techniques.
- Enlarging pavements and creating bike lanes to encourage decarbonised mobility.
Economic:
- Refurbishing existing commercial and economic spaces to make them more attractive and diverse.
- Reorganising the commercial fabric to improve its profitability.
- Improving public transport to improve access to employment.
Social:
- Social work with owner-occupiers to help them deal with administrative problems, indebtedness, and to make sure they access all the social grants they are eligible for.
- Rehousing in less deprived neighbourhoods.
- Refurbishing schools and public facilities.
- Retrofitting condominiums to reduce maintenance charges.
Based on participatory approach
To keep residents informed, communication tools like newsletters, posters and webpages are used, and public meetings organised. Each neighbourhood has a project centre where residents can access information and get support from social workers. The EPFIF also works with Voisin Malin, an association that organises door-to-door information campaigns, to reach the most deprived households.
Engagement of private owners is essential for condominium refurbishment, as they have to vote and help fund the works. Training sessions and events showcase the benefits of refurbishment and improve building management skills. Participatory processes, such as walking diagnostics and workshops, support the urban redevelopment plan for the neighbourhoods.
Partnership-based governance is organised around technical and steering committees, involving many stakeholders:
- The State and its agencies.
- Social housing organisations, the tribunal, and the police.
- City councils, agglomerations, départements, and the region.
- Private owners, condominium management boards, and shopkeepers.
What difference has it made?
While he four projects are still being implemented, the impact of certain actions such as the safeguard plan for the Neptune condominium in the Val Fourré neighbourhood (Mantes la Jolie), has been documented.
The Neptune condominium has 72 flats, of which 26 are owned by owner-occupiers and the others by landlords. The condominium was facing severe financial and technical difficulties. In 2019, the maintenance charges owners had not paid to the condominium represented 76.5% of the annual budget, and the condominium owed in turn EUR 150 000 to its heating provider. The energy efficiency of the building was poor (Energy Performance Diagnosis (DPE) D) and, more generally, the building was run-down.
EPFIF’s safeguard plan led to recovery procedures being instigated, with the purchase of 16 flats from owners in debt, so that the unpaid charges went down to 18% of the annual budget in 2023. The debt due to service providers was entirely paid back by the end of 2023. Refurbishment works were undertaken in 2021-2022 to improve the energy efficiency of the building by an estimated 56% (DPE B).
The works cost a total of EUR 35 million, for which the owners received a EUR 3.45 million grant from the National Housing Agency, the region and the agglomeration. The improvements to the condominium were made possible by the engagement of the private owners in the safeguard plan, who are now acting as ‘ambassadors’.
Why this Good Practice should be transferred to other cities
Substandard private housing is an issue in all EU countries. The building sector represents 35% of energy-related EU greenhouse gas emissions in 2021, and energy efficiency gains in existing buildings is necessary both to mitigate climate change and adapt to its effects.
Vulnerable private owners in condominiums have limited capacity to engage in expensive refurbishment. Few have gone as far as the EPFIF in accompanying poor private owners in condominiums, and its experience can be relevant for many cities in France and elsewhere in Europe.
The specificity of the French context is twofold:
- The funding for private housing improvement is provided by a State agency, the National Housing Agency, sometimes completed by the EPFIF, the National Agency for Urban Regeneration or local governments.
- The governance of private collective housing is determined by the 1965 law on copropriété.
The actions undertaken by the EPFIF (working with housing boards to improve their budget and finances, and grants) can be implemented in many contexts.
The good practice combines various actions that are adaptable to a variety of city contexts, as already seen in France.
Key factors to address when transferring the practice:
- Political will: Public authorities may lack natural legitimacy to intervene in private housing, despite the high environmental and social stakes.
- Long-term vision: The decision-making process in housing boards is sometimes slow, in particular when owners are poor and disengaged.
- Public funding: Housing refurbishment are costly, requiring subsidies for poor homeowners.
An ORCOD-IN framework for the co-ownership of housing is also being implemented in Nîmes, with another four being set-up in Marseille. Many city councils are now also implementing similar projects, including Montpellier, Saint Etienne du Rouvray, and Lyon.