The mattresses are sometimes placed on the floor, sometimes piled on top of each other.
Sofas are gutted in what appears to be a common room.
The ground is covered with stains.
There is rubbish all over the place and cockroaches are running around.
Not to mention safety standards or those related to salubrity that are not respected.
The old farmhouse of Deuil-la-Barre (Val-d'Oise) served as dormitories to accommodate dozens of people in the historic district of the town.
Foreign nationals accommodated in unworthy conditions by real sleep merchants.
They took advantage of the situation of "tenants" who had to pay 150 euros per month for a mattress.
This Tuesday morning, the police officers of the Enghien police station, assisted by the agents of the municipal police of Deuil-la-Barre, crossed the threshold of the building overlooking the rue Haute, next to the Evangelical Protestant temple.
Representatives of the prefecture and the regional health agency (ARS) were also present on the site.
Lawsuits against the owner
This operation surprised around thirty residents on the premises, as well as two people suspected of taking an active part in the events.
Legal proceedings must be taken against the owner, who was not present.
The findings also made it possible to count nearly sixty potential beds on site.
Deuil-la-Barre.
Nearly 60 beds were arranged by a sleeper in an old farmhouse in the historic center, rue Haute.
LP / Frédéric Naizot
The investigation began about six months ago after an initial intervention by the municipal police of Deuil-la-Barre, when the town hall had been alerted by residents who noted incessant and suspicious comings and goings in this rather quiet area of the commune.
Without suspecting the real conditions in which people were accommodated.
"We thought it was a home, rather well," says the mother of a neighbor on Wednesday.
The floor was in danger of collapsing
Coming to check on the spot, the municipal police had then noted the presence of many mattresses, a certain number placed on the floor, in a context of unsanitary conditions, a floor possibly at risk of collapsing.
A report of insalubrity was drawn up and the town planning department seized the prefect of Val-d'Oise who then alerted the regional health agency, and reported the facts to the Pontoise prosecutor's office, which did not responded to our requests.
The operation carried out this Tuesday morning is welcomed by the town hall of Deuil-la-Barre.
“There is a proliferation of sleep merchants.
The living conditions here were deplorable ”, underlines Slimann Tir, deputy mayor in particular in charge of security.
The establishment of a rental permit in project
“We are preparing with the mayor, Muriel Scolan, the establishment of a rental permit on the territory of the agglomeration.
The city of Deuil-la-Barre gave a favorable opinion.
This will allow us to deal with the problem of unsanitary housing and sleep vendors.
The rental permit should see the light of day by the end of the year, ”he explains.
To read also Rental license: in Val-d'Oise, this tool to fight against unworthy housing is attracting more and more mayors
The rental permit is a device intended to control the condition of rental accommodation in a given sector, to check whether they meet health and safety standards, before authorizing the owner to rent out his property.
A fine of up to 15,000 euros can thus be imposed on landlords who decide to rent a property without authorization.
This rental permit has been in place since 2017 in Villiers-le-Bel, where around ten requests were refused out of 180 in 2019, mainly for small jobs to be carried out.
Today it tends to develop in the Val-d'Oise.
Pontoise adopted this measure which will be implemented in October.
The perimeter, which concerns the city center and a building in Marcouville, could target in the future the district of Larris where irregularities have been observed. This system has also been set up in Cergy in the Horloge district, in Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône and in Garges since 2020.