A fatal blow for the squatters? This Monday, the National Assembly begins the examination of a sensitive anti-squatting bill presented by the groups of the presidential majority Renacimiento and Horizontes. In the absence of an absolute majority in the lower house of the French Parliament, the text was able to be adopted with the help of the votes of the LR and RN deputies, despite opposition from the left and associations.
“I have received dozens of testimonies from smallholders in litigation in the last two, three, four years. Many citizens are outraged to see these victims of squatting or non-payment. This creates a feeling of injustice and impunity”, says the author. of the text, Guillaume Kasbarian, to AFP.
tougher penalties
In the introduction to this proposal, the deputies insist on “the strong emotion that these examples of incivility and injustice experienced on a daily basis arouse in our fellow citizens.”
On the merits of the matter, the text proposes tripling the penalties incurred by squatters up to 3 years in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros instead of the current year in prison and a fine of 15,000 euros according to the first paragraph of article 226-4 of the code penal.
“Currently a squatter risks a year in prison and a fine of 15,000 euros. But the owner who changes the lock risks 3 years and 45,000 euros”, justifies Guillaume Kasbarian, also president of the Economic Affairs Committee.
His project provides in exchange for the same penalty for anyone who pretends to be a landlord to rent a property. It specifies that the crime of entering the home also affects second homes, and extends the express eviction procedure, without recourse to a judge, to unoccupied homes, empty of furniture.
reduced deadlines
Secondly, the text also reduces the duration of legal proceedings, and establishes that certain terms that can be granted by a judge are now only possible if the tenant requests it himself.
In detail, the text would then reduce “from two months to one month the minimum period between the summons for the hearing and the day of the hearing.”
In addition, the elected officials also want to reduce the recourse “to occupants whose eviction has been ordered by the courts” but whose rehousing “cannot be carried out under normal conditions.” Currently between three months and three years, the proposal suggests a reduction of this term “between two months and one year”.
“If so many owners ask for guarantees, bonds and supporting documents, it is because they know that the procedures are tortuous”, insists Guillaume Kasbarian.
“We maintain the appeal to the judge and the winter break. Normally, people who have difficulties are granted a period. But it is not normal for these procedures to last five or six years, ”he agrees, however.
A divisive text
The debates around this controversial text should lead to big battles. In the absence of an absolute majority, the presidential camp should turn to the right for the text to be voted on. “We’ve been making proposals in this direction for a long time,” said Rep. Annie Genevard (LR). In committee, she pushed through an amendment to “assimilate squatting to robbery,” an “essential” provision that she hopes to extend to cases of occupation of premises for economic use.
“The National Rally group approves this bill,” said its deputy Géraldine Grangier in committee. As for the government, if it has supported the text, it could still intervene in the session to balance it.
Rebel, communist and ecologist deputies are up in arms, although some left-wing overseas deputies support amendments for strong measures abroad.
“This law is a homeless factory,” denounces LFI deputy Danielle Simonnet, whose group intends to present a motion to reject it before the text. Her colleague François Piquemal had criticized a “news” bill in committee, regarding the some “170” expulsion proceedings completed in 2021 mentioned by Guillaume Kasbarian.
“If we kept this kind of reasoning, we would not have done anything against the dream merchants, who are also a minority,” replied the latter. The Ministry of Housing estimated in 2021 that “squatting is not a massive phenomenon in France”.
Source: BFM TV
