Action Logement to the rescue of developers. The social housing and housing assistance giant bought 30,000 new homes from developers in 2023, which made it possible to “limit the damage” in the sector, its president Bruno Arcadipane confirmed on Wednesday.
“In July, we took our responsibilities by offering to support this sector and acquire 30,000 housing units from developers. (…) These are now acquired,” announced Bruno Arcadipane during a greeting ceremony. “In five months, we have received more than 100,000 offers in all territories and from all players. This shows the scale of the crisis,” he added to Christophe Béchu, Minister of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion, who oversees housing.
In response to the housing crisis, the government announced in June that it planned to have Action Logement and the Caisse des Dépôts (CDC) buy back 47,000 unsold housing units held by developers, with the aim of supporting construction new when stopped. “I take no joy in this success,” tempered Bruno Arcadipane, judging the new real estate sector “asphyxiated” and describing the year 2023 as “disastrous” for housing. In his speech, he called for “fewer texts and more actions” from the government. “Housing must now be a priority, like education or health,” he added.
Confirmed Thursday to his position in the Attal government, Christophe Béchu confirmed to the press that he remained “minister of housing, transport, ecological transition and territorial cohesion”. Asked about the absence of appointment to the housing portfolio, while there is a serious crisis, he said that it was “unimaginable that there would not be a delegate minister” for housing.
Action Logement (formerly 1% Logement), an organization led by employers and unions, manages more than a million social housing units in France. In 2023, the group invested more than 9.2 billion euros in housing construction or rehabilitation projects and obtained more than 44,000 building authorizations, compared to 43,000 in 2022.
