'Real estate crisis: encourage owners of 3 million empty apartments to put them back on the market'

Christophe Dupra, CEO of Qlower, suggests ways to get owners to rent out their empty homes in urban areas.

The housing crisis in France is a growing problem, getting worse over the years. However, there is an untapped resource right at your fingertips: three million empty dwellings scattered across the country. Some of these unrented properties are the answer to the population's growing housing needs. As real estate professionals, it is our duty to shine a light on this problem and offer concrete and incentive-based solutions for every owner to express their will.

The map of vacancy: an overview of empty housing zones in France

Housing vacancies account for 8%''of the French housing stock. Let's be clear about where this three million non-residential units are concentrated. These empty dwellings are not evenly distributed across the country. They are mainly concentrated in large cities such as Paris, where the non-residential rate is around 7.5% (source: APUR, 2020), but also in some declining rural areas, especially in the famous 'diagonal of emptiness'. This urban concentration is often due to speculative investment or simply tenant negligence or fear. In rural areas, many homes remain unoccupied due to out-migration and lack of economic appeal. A second reservoir of housing is less available to address the current housing shortage. The dynamics of area attractiveness and''Adaptation of urban planning policies remain heavy prerequisites for any effective strategy to reuse these empty dwellings in rural areas. In contrast, for urban areas, clear and sustained political will can secure a significant proportion of these empty dwellings.

Local and global strategies to promote empty housing.

How can we ensure that owners are incentivized to rent out these vacant residential properties in urban areas? Consider two specific actions and the possibility of creating an incentive environment for owners who choose to forego potential rental income.

Big projects: office and commercial' conversions'premises in housing

Offices, retail premises, government buildings, surface parking lots are by definition not counted in non-residential statistics. These buildings, often obsolete in terms of energy efficiency, are the target of major projects to convert them into housing, mainly by social and institutional landlords. The will of the State in this matter is clearly stated (exemption from the local improvement plan under the Elan Act 2018). It is now impossible to build or demolish a building without an accompanying change of use and development study. Some 2,000 residential units have been created from business buildings over the last 10 years, two-thirds of them in Paris.

Small projects: regeneration''100,000 unoccupied annexe chambers

In Paris and some historic centers, up to 85% of annexe chambers remain unoccupied according to the latest 2015 census. Often indecent and located on upper floors without elevators, with floor space below the minimum allowed for half of them, cell-flats are part of the solution. The initiative should consist, on the one hand, of facilitating their association for the purpose of renting or selling them. This local initiative could be accompanied by compensation for renovations with a commitment to rent as the main dwelling.

Local policy: making life easier for owners,''minimizing their risk

Like the "Rent to Rent Mutually Beneficial" program in the city of Paris, local initiatives have emerged. Guaranteed payment of rent and costs, recovery in case of damage, delegated management of the rental by an accredited body and the possibility to pay taxes on such income. These benefits offered by the City of Paris are an excellent answer that is nevertheless experiencing little success. It may be regretted that this program is only for non-residential properties and is subject to tax policies that range from barely favorable to confiscatory.

Global policy: restoring landlord confidence or incentivizing sales.

The housing tax just turned into a''a tax on secondary housing and a tax on non-residential premises. This is the first component of a system of enforcement measures considered by the State to incentivize owners to act on their properties. Simplify renting: today there are many tools and services that make it easier to rent and manage rental properties: job costing, furniture supply, rental management software, automated accounting, etc. Offering housing and managing rentals has never been easier. At the same time, external management costs have fallen, typically around 6% of rent. It is true that there is still the problem of over-protection of tenants in France. This principle of protection is justified in some places, but sometimes''abused, and the media every week cite examples of manifest injustice (though rare, they are nonetheless outrageous), always to the detriment of the landlord, who remains the image of a rogue landlord.

Sales incentives: the downward trend is a fact. Even if owners refuse to accept it, expectation is now playing against them. Once past the stage of denying price declines, owners will put their properties on the market, which only brings rising costs. Trust our representatives to increase tax pressure on vacant or secondary residences that are not generating income.

Secure property ownership and its income.

Discuss the housing crisis without focusing on''of urban vacancy, is a mistake. Seasonal renting is just a convenient scapegoat for ethereal housing policy. Instead of adding short-term tax incentives that lead to hunting decisions, create the necessary accompanying measures to create a favorable rental environment for vacant housing. Ensure property ownership and its income. Stabilize the taxation of rentals, whether rented furnished or unfurnished, far from fleeting announcements. Let's stop the contraction of the rental housing market through impactful actions, particularly housing energy efficiency. Recall often that 3 million owner-landlords offer housing to French households one in five. Let's''Bringing owners, real estate professionals and government agencies together to revitalize a sustainable rental market and make it accessible to all.