While the devastating effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the national economy cannot yet be quantified globally, the repercussions are already palpable in many sectors particularly affected. Tenants and owners are already suffering from this.
The sector gives the alert
The “SOS Loyers Impayés” telephone line, set up by the National Agency for Housing Information (Anil) and available at 0805 16 00 75, saw the number of calls double between January and April. Especially since of the 4,000 phone calls recorded that month, 63% concerned the financial difficulties of the tenants. The National Federation of Real Estate (Fnaim) is concerned about the increase in late payments, while the Social Union for Housing, which brings together all HLM organizations, figures the unpaid rent to 4 , 8% in April, against 4% in normal times.
Surveys of industry players are equally worrying. At the end of April, a survey carried out by the specialized site SeLoger.com in partnership with the Observatoire du morale immobilier revealed that 18% of tenants fear that they will not be able to pay their rent, while 34% of lessors fear a increase in arrears. Same observation in a study by Meelo, a company specializing in artificial intelligence, published in late May: 24.3% of tenants say that paying rents will soon be difficult and 5.9% can no longer pay them. As for owners who have a mortgage on their backs, 26.4% honor their repayments but believe that the future will be more complicated, while 17% can no longer assume their monthly payments.
What safety net?
In the absence of emergency funds created to offset the effects of the health crisis, individuals must rely on conventional aid systems. On the tenant side, you must try to negotiate a staggering of rents with your landlord at the first difficulty, rather than letting debts accumulate. In the absence of an agreement, it is possible to apply to the Departmental Conciliation Commission, or even to the judicial court (former district court) for delays.
To limit the risk of non-payment, owners can impose the presence of a deposit or opt for the Visale guarantee, a free public device covering unpaid rents under certain conditions. Another option: around 15% of landlords use paid private insurance called “unpaid rent guarantee” (GLI).
In addition to the offers of large groups of insurers such as Maif, Allianz, April or Insor, digital platforms have also launched themselves on this market like Wizi.io, a start-up dealing with rentals from announcement up to the management of the property, which offers to cover up to 50,000 euros in unpaid rents. For its part, Garantme.fr reimburses lessors up to 36,000 euros, knowing that it is the tenant who pays, upon signature of the lease, a deposit amounting to 3.5% of the amount of the rent, charges included.
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