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whose income does not exceed 60 % of the PLUS ceiling (as required by
Article R 331-12 of the Building and Housing Code) means that they can not
be described as “very social” housing: this lower ceiling - € 10,756 for a single
person in Paris - is still much more than the annual amount of the RMI
(minimum social income) (€ 5,196 a year since 1 January 2006 for a single
person).
89. According to the report on social protection and social inclusion strategies
for 2006 to 2008 in France, only 9 % of social housing built in 2005 was of the
PLAI type, whereas the percentage was 12 % in 2000 and 30 % in 1998. If
30 % of the PLUS-financed housing is counted in addition to the PLAI type,
the percentage of new social housing reserved for those on low incomes was
26 % in 2005, compared with 35 % in 2000.
90. It therefore seems clear that, although the policy of building social housing
has been re-launched, it is less and less targeted at people living in extreme
poverty.
91. Furthermore, the Government figures for the construction of social
housing provide no information about how this housing was actually allocated.
They do not answer the key question of whether families in a situation of
extreme poverty benefit from such housing. There are no specific measures to
ensure that, in the allocation of this new housing, priority is actually given to
“persons and families who are completely homeless, at risk of eviction without
rehousing, in temporary accommodation, housed in slums, or unfit, uncertain
or improvised homes” in accordance with Section 4 of the Act of 31 May 1990
(see §37).
b)
The Government
92.
Refuting the arguments of ATD Fourth World, the Government refers to
the Social Cohesion Plan of June 2004 and Act No. 2006-872 of 13 July 2006
on a national housing commitment. It states, in particular, that, with over
410,000 homes started in 2005, the rate of house-building is at its highest for
25 years. The number of social housing units for rent being financed is also at
a 10-year peak, with 71,000 units in all financed in 2004, and 81,000 in 2005,
the first year of implementation of the social cohesion plan. The number of
controlled-rent homes in the private sector also rose strongly in 2005,
reaching 28,000. Over 35,000 privately-owned homes with controlled rents
were to be built in 2006, and some 16,000 vacant homes made available for
letting again. This effort will continue over the whole term of the social
cohesion plan. The funding allocated to the development of social housing for
rent was 9% higher in 2006 than it was in 2005 in terms of commitment
authorisations, and 15% in terms of payment appropriations.
In order to co-ordinate all the action taken to increase housing supply, the
Prime Minister in October 2005 appointed an inter-ministerial delegate for an
increase in housing supply. The delegate’s role is to persuade all ministries to
make state-owned land available for housing.
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