Housing: tall buildings, new houses… Gabriel Attal’s statements on responding to shortages

How to respond to the housing crisis in France? Prime Minister Gabriel Attal made several statements during a trip to Villejuif (Val-de-Marne) this Wednesday. “We will fight cm by cm, m2 by m2, to find housing for the French,” he said. “Once you have a good home, many of the problems of daily life will be solved,” he says.

In total, 22 territories are under government attack. Within three years, more than 30 thousand houses should be built here thanks to administrative “simplification” measures. Villejuif, Dunkirk, Dieppe, Marseille… these cities have been targeted because the needs are high. According to Gabriel Attal, this situation also includes tourist cities with severe housing shortages, such as Biarritz and Saint-Malo.

How to save space? To avoid destroying green spaces, which are still too sparse in many cities, the government is relying on the construction of buildings. “Yes, we can build vertically,” says the Prime Minister. Social landlords and communities must therefore identify buildings to which floors can be added. Their findings are expected by 2025.

“French Dream” about a house

Gabriel Attal is not forgetting about houses, while custom home builders are experiencing great difficulties. “The individual house and pavilion are part of the French dream, (…) I believe,” emphasizes the Prime Minister. He plans to save space where there is still space. “We are going to significantly simplify the mayoral procedures for the French who want to build additional housing on their land,” he points out.

He cites the need to accommodate a loved one “losing independence” or an outgrown child, while students are on the front lines of housing shortages. In total, this would represent a “potential” of 160,000 additional housing units. The local urban plan (PLU), which requires a building permit, will not have to be changed, promises Gabriel Attal.

Offices in housing

The government also wants to look into converting offices into housing. “There are too many empty houses in too many places, it is an unacceptable waste,” condemns Gabriel Attal. The text, supported by Ministry of Democracy deputy Romain Daubier, should contribute to this transformation. Specifically, mayors could launch the project without changing their PLU.

So-called “reversible” building permits will be created. For example, a developer who has applied for a building permit for an office building will not have to apply for a new permit if he wishes to convert it into housing. The number of constructions of intermediate rental housing (IH), the price of which is below the market price, should double by the end of the five-year period.

Finally, the government will support so-called offsite manufacturing, which involves constructing entire buildings in factories before assembling them on site. According to Attal, this will require a shorter production time (six months instead of 3-5 years).

These announcements are in addition to the revision of the Diagnosis of Energy Efficiency (DPE) for small houses of less than 40 m2 announced by Minister of Ecological Transition Christophe Bechoux. The latter is due to meet with banking sector players by the end of February to create a new type of property loan at a time when many French people are struggling to get credit.