NKM Campaigns for 10,000 New Paris Homes Annually

Nathalie Geneviève Marie Kosciusko-MorizetNathalie Geneviève Marie Kosciusko-Morizet, known as “NKM,” is just 40 years old and is the current deputy of the 4th electoral constituency of the region of Essonne (elected at the age of 29), is the mayor of Longjumeau (since 2008) and is a candidate for the mayor of Paris in the local elections in 2014. She’s affiliated with the UMP party and was the spokesperson for Nicolas Sarkozy during his presidential reelection campaign. Her family history is one of Polish roots with a political background that positions her well for a long career in French politics.
Just yesterday, she announced her plan to improve the housing situation in Paris. According to her outline — in French — Paris has 1.35 million units of housing, including 195,000 social housing units, for 2.3 million inhabitants.
She believes that the best way to keep prices down so that Paris is affordable is to build more housing. But she claims, construction in Paris is down over the last 20 years and therefore there is a shortage and prices have increased.
The problem is specific to Paris. The current high price of housing at €8,340 per square meter (average rate in 2013) penalizes the middle classes as it has increased 1.7 times more than French income in all of France, while in Paris it increased 2.5 times.
Paris has fewer owners than the rest of the country (33% compared to 58%) and the ability to become an owner has become increasingly more difficult, especially for those less than 45 years of age.
The need for social housing is acute, with 140,000 applicants for 12,000 available units. Less than 3,000 units were renovated in 2012, when the target was 4,500, compounded by the fault of the city not to evict “troublemakers” (squatters).
(See nkmparis.fr/ or download this PDF for statistics on current Paris housing.)
NKM’s “MARSHALL PLAN”Her Marshall Plan has seven objectives (rough translation):
1. Reduce pressure on housing prices from a supply-side policy
The goal for the next ten years will double the annual rate of construction to rediscover the level before 2001 of 6,000 housing units per year, and mobilize otherwise absent properties of 4,000 units (converting office space, rehabilitation of dilapidated buildings, recuperate vacant housing, etc.).
2. Boost homeownership
Fight against soaring prices by moderating the prices at which the City sells Land. Increase the ceilings and resource conditions of zero-interest loans by the City of Paris. Routinely offer 20% of new housing to Parisians at 25% lower than the market price. Tenants of social housing will be offered ownership of their unit after a few years of occupation, at a discount to the market price.
3. Give priority to middle class
The plan aims to create 100,000 additional dwellings by 2025, with 60,000 of them new dwellings. Priority will be given to the middle classes.
4. Rehabilitate social housing
Initiate renovation of social housing, with the goal of completing the renovation of 25% of social housing in six years. Implement the law on eviction of squatters. Upgrade the role of the guardians and caretakers. Install a moratorium on the construction of social housing in neighborhoods already with more than 30% of social housing in order to preserve diversity. Rebalance the production of social housing between East and West. Give priority to the rotation within the social housing. Encourage co-location within the social housing, particularly to students in order to develop innovative solutions.
5. Review the conditions of the allocation of social housing
Create a “citizen jury” to select the criteria by which applications are approved for social housing: Parisians will be solicited for periods not exceeding one year and their participation will be voluntary. Establish a system of allocation issues (“scoring”), which will give priority to those who service the city and its citizens, such as police, nurses, teachers, childcare givers, etc. and families, when the housing needs to be close to the workplace of the parents.
6. Encourage energy efficient housing
Encourage proposals for the construction of energy efficient housing. Create a budget to fund energy and sound renovation in private dwellings.
7. Accountability with verifiable commitments
High rise housing in Paris?Organize an annual conference bringing together all the players in the housing industry: government, city, public and private operators. Publish an annual progress report defined by district and disseminate a report in each municipality.
Nowhere in her plan does she mention the current rental laws which attempt to put back on the market current short-term rental properties for long term residency by disallowing leases of less than one year. And the big question still remains…where are these new units going to be built? Will the citizens allow the construction of high-rise buildings which they currently loathe against the Paris skyline?
For more on this issue, read “Why isn’t there enough housing in France?” by Jean-Claude Driant (translated by Oliver Waine).
Stay tuned. A new leader in the mayor’s office could mean a big change to the way they view the housing shortage issue!
A bientôt,
Adrian Leeds
Editor, French Property Insider & Director of The Adrian Leeds Group, LLC
 
Email: [email protected]”
 

 

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