Le Figaro Marseille
“It’s all over the living room, and it’s starting to take hold in the kitchen now
,” complains Stéphane.
This tenant of the Michelis estate, in the 11th arrondissement of Marseille, has been witnessing the appearance of cracks on the walls of his apartment for almost six years.
The breaks,
"9 to 10 meters"
long , infested his home without him being able to remedy them, even going so far as to affect the supporting wall of his home.
“The problem is that it’s cracking. I find Placoplatre on the floor every day. Aesthetically speaking, I have to hide the cracks with flowers or frames when I receive guests
,” he continues.
“I find myself with an ambient temperature of 11 degrees even with the heating on due to the wind infiltrating my home.
I tried to notify the lessor by registered mail, but nothing happened
,” he assures.
The apartments of the Michelis city victims of cracks
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In Michelis, whose oldest buildings rose from the ground in 1934, the appearance of these cracks is nothing new.
Starting in the 2000s, several cracks appeared on
"several buildings"
, strangely contaminating many buildings over the years.
These cracks have since been filled with resin injections.
But recently, while work to rehabilitate housing ready to be re-let had just been carried out, new, more discreet cracks appeared.
“Some neighbors have seen them everywhere in their homes, including in the bedrooms.
When we see that in Marseille, certain buildings are collapsing, I think there is a problem
,” he confesses with concern.
Dangerous ground for building foundations?
But what triggers the appearance of these cracks?
According to the social landlord in charge of the Michelis city, 13 Habitat, the nature of the soil on which the residence rests, clay, is in question.
The progressive dryness of the earth, but also the existence of a water source which evolves under the city, contributed to causing movements of the ground, leading to the multiplication of breaks throughout the buildings.
Contacted, the management of 13 Habitat indicated in a press release that they were aware of these concerns, explaining that the buildings affected by these declarations are
“under constant surveillance”
and that several field visits have been carried out by their technical teams.
In addition, the lessor recalls that work to reinforce the ground under the foundations of buildings subject to cracks was carried out on numerous occasions between 2008 and 2022.
“These cracks are not likely to threaten the safety of tenants, who can therefore continue to live in their home without any risk
,” concludes the social landlord.
“I put myself in the shoes of tenants who live with cracked walls and who are worried. They ask themselves questions
,” breathes Gisèle Lolio-Darmon, president of the tenants’ association and representative of the Consumption Logement Cadre de vie (CLCV) association.
“We are awaiting the examination of the structures which must be carried out and which was voted on by the board of directors.
This will not be resolved with the wave of a magic wand
,” she sighs.
New assessments should soon be carried out by 13 Habitat in order to
“reassure tenants”
.
Not enough to satisfy certain tenants, who still have to deal with cracks on a daily basis.
“The landlord asks us to take care of everything ourselves.
My insurance even turned against them, but they do nothing
,” he says.