She thought she was getting a good deal.
However, for two years now, Yvelise L., an official from the Ministry of Sustainable Development, has been sleeping in her car or with friends.
Its small pavilion, bought at the end of the Fiocre dead end in Maisons-Alfort (Val-de-Marne) and occupied since 2015 by a family of Romanians, remains inaccessible.
Eleven people live there, a couple and their nine children, aged 4 months to 15 years.
This Sunday, with about twenty relatives, she demonstrated in front of her house by highlighting the slogan "A roof for them, a roof for me", named after the collective she created.
“I have no choice but to put them on the streets, even though I find it regrettable.
We have to find a solution so that this family can be rehoused, ”explains Yvelise L., 48, at the end of his rope physically and mentally.
Yet initially, despite the risk of buying property occupied by tenants, the situation seemed clear.
The house was not squatted.
“I had to get it back at the end of the lease, the family going to live elsewhere,” she recalls.
At 11, including 9 children, in 56 square meters
An ideal situation for her and for this family who had to push back the walls to live more or less correctly in 56 m2.
“It's an F 2, transformed into an F 3, because they have converted the basement into a bedroom for the children.
It is not possible to live in such conditions, even more with a baby of a few months, she notes, pointing to a small skylight, the only ventilation in the basement.
When it rains a little hard, the water flows inside.
"
So, in July 2019, Yvelise L. buys this small pavilion which also includes a room at the back of the courtyard of 25 to 30 m2.
"I was planning to turn this room into a studio to rent it out," says the civil servant, disillusioned.
However, this part severely damaged by water infiltration must be completely redone.
Unanswered representations to the prefecture
The family, whose father has set up a public works company, is looking for accommodation elsewhere.
"Since 2018, they have started procedures with the prefecture, the Drihl (Regional and Interdepartmental Directorate of Accommodation and Housing), apparently without response", believes Yvelise L. who hopes to recover the apartment a month later. his purchase.
But everything is blocked, the family not having found new accommodation.
"I started a first legal action but she declared herself incompetent and referred us to another jurisdiction", relates the official who is counting heavily on a new hearing in November 2021.
Since then, Yvelise L. has had a series of stays, more or less short, with friends, sometimes in her car.
“I try to come home late so as not to disturb,” she describes.
Lately, I was staying in a garage converted into a loft but I caught the Covid.
My friends then got it.
It's really complicated.
"
The couple maintain the house and have repainted the interior
In the meantime, the couple maintain the house, in particular by repainting the interior, and have integrated very well into the neighborhood. Some neighbors are also monitoring the situation closely. “Our children met at school. We got to know them, explains Romain, father of three children, who came to support Yvelise. The children are great, the older ones are very responsible. "These people are nice, polite and clean," adds a resident of the dead end. "In this case, no one is unfriendly and in bad faith," adds Michel, another local resident.
Some have written to the town hall to try to find new accommodation for the family.
“I entered the Drihl because it reveals the state.
We do not have accommodation for 11 people, recalls Olivier Capitanio, the mayor (LR), who followed the case.
I got hold of the Prefect about this lately.
It is an atypical situation.
The prefecture, contacted, does not communicate on the file because of the electoral reserve.
"When it comes to Romanians, I have the impression that the doors close automatically", laments the owner who has received the support of Daniel Molin, the president of the regional council of the French Overseas, present this Sunday.
"We must regularize this situation and this family must have a home," he says.
The family could not be met.