"Do what you want, call the gendarmerie, but we are at home!"
Faced with squatters who ensure
"know that the law is like that"
, there is something to be distressed ... In Saint-Honoré-les-Bains, in the Nièvre, a man has just lodged a complaint against a couple in their forties who illegally occupies his mother's house.
The broadcast of the video of their altercation has ignited social networks, and the mayor fears reprisals against the illegal occupants.
"Some young people and some not so young will regroup and chase away the squatters
," Didier Bourlon told France 3.
I am very afraid that it will degenerate. "
Read also:
Squat: in the ransacked house of Théoule's retirees
Théoule-sur-Mer, in the Alpes-Maritimes, Saint-Honoré-les-Bains or Le Mans, in the Sarthe… The story is always the same: the squatters take advantage of the absence of the owners to invest the premises.
And take advantage of all the loopholes in the legislation to become embedded.
A simple pizza delivery receipt may be enough to prove their presence for more than 48 hours!
To put an end to these ubiquitous situations, the government has - finally - decided to act.
The expulsion procedures will be considerably reduced: from two to three years on average at present, to three days as provided for in the amendment examined this week by the deputies and supported by the government.
"
If all goes well, the law can be promulgated by the end of October, if not by the end of December,
" Guillaume Kasbarian told
Le Figaro.
To read also:
Guillaume Kasbarian: "The right to property is a fundamental principle which must be respected"
The objective is not only to expel the squatters more quickly but also to erase, once and for all, the differences between second and main residences.
Currently, the law provides for an accelerated procedure only for the
owner's
“home”
(article 38 of the law of March 5, 2007 establishing the right to housing).
In other words, the main residences.
Concretely, the owners can hope to recover their accommodation immediately, if it is their
"home"
.
On the other hand, for second homes, which are more exposed because of the frequent absences of the owner, a long and expensive legal procedure (several thousand euros) is almost inevitable.
Government promises homeowners to get their homes back in 72 hours
With this amendment, the law no longer differentiates between the two types of housing.
Whether they own a primary or secondary residence, the government promises them to get their home back in 72 hours.
Concretely, as soon as an owner notices that his home is squatted, he must file a complaint with the police station.
Then, once the offense is characterized, the owner seizes the prefect by providing proof that the squatted accommodation belongs to him.
A downside: to do this, he will have to go to his notary to make a copy of the authentic deed of sale.
Unless he can access his main residence to retrieve this official document.
The ball in the prefects' court
The prefect will have 48 hours to respond to the owner.
But, and this is a detail that is very important, the latter is not guaranteed to get the green light.
"
In case of refusal, the administrative services will have to communicate to them without delay the reasons for the decision of refusal
", specifies the amendment.
If the answer is positive, the prefect will have to send a formal notice to the squatter who will then have 24 hours to leave the premises, even if he has had time to change the locks or to put the EDF meter in his name.
It is up to the owner to remedy these inconveniences.
After this reprieve, if the squatter has not complied, the prefect must, "
without delay
", request the intervention of the public force which will be authorized to expel the illegal occupant manu militari.
To read also:
Mathieu Bock-Côté: "A squatter, it emerges"
The ball is therefore in the court of the prefects, now obliged to respond to the injunction of the owners.
But will this be the case on the ground?
"
We often take into account the profile of squatters before expelling them or not
,"
a Parisian police commissioner
told
Le Figaro
.
Expulsion will be immediate for people who seek, for example, to hide from the police.
On the other hand, if it is a single woman with small children, the expulsion will be more delicate
”.
“
I can hardly believe that we can do without legal proceedings in the event that the good faith of the owner and the bad of the squatter are not certain.
Only a judge can rule
”, underlines
Me Romain Rossi-Landi, Parisian lawyer, specialist in squat issues.
As for the owners, we are delighted with this "
strong signal
" sent by the government.
“
The impunity of the squatters is unbearable!
denounces Christophe Demerson, president of the Union of property owners.
If everyone plays along, this new law will work.
It is simply a shame to have waited for these various facts to act
. ”
Read also:
How social crooks arrogated to themselves a 17th century castle
Will she finally get her father's lodge back?
Patricia has been fighting since 2015 to change the law.
"The night of my father's death, hospitalized, his house in Seine-et-Marne was vandalized and squatted by a dozen Africans in an irregular situation"
, says this only girl, who says she is
"despoiled of all her inheritance ”
.
“My house was worth 280,000 euros, it will no longer be salable in the state it is now
,” she laments.
I sent my file to several ministers.
If they do nothing, it is I who will do justice on my own ... "
For the moment, an aberration remains in force: the owners who take justice into their own hands are always punished more severely (30,000 euros fine and three years in prison) than squatters (15,000 euros and one year in prison).
Guillaume Kasbarian's text does not provide for tougher penal sanctions against intruders, as claimed in particular by two LR deputies, Julien Aubert and Éric Ciotti, who have tabled two bills to this effect.