Real estate: couple therapy against the housing crisis, the solution?

Albane Leprince 06:00, February 18, 2024

Feel good in your relationship, feel good at home? Faced with too much demand for social housing in its city, the town hall of Viroflay, in Yvelines, decided to set up free couples therapy to try to reduce the number of applications for HLM. It all started from an observation made by the municipality in 2017, since it noticed that half of the applicants were single-parent families, as a result, each household needed two homes, rather than one. So, she launched this therapy system for couples.

>> READ ALSO -

 Real estate: the housing “social bomb” has exploded, warns the Abbé Pierre Foundation

10 couples helped each year...

A device which intervenes before the separation of the household, when it is possible to avoid it. Thus, assisted couples are offered consultations by appointment, on Tuesdays and Fridays, free of charge. This is a negligible investment of a few thousand euros for the city (60 to 65 euros per session), incomparable with the cost of building housing. On average, the Viroflay marriage and family counselor receives around ten couples per year. Workshops and conferences are also organized for the latter. 

A concept which seems to be bearing fruit, because although the town of Viroflay does not analyze the personal situation of each couple who has undergone therapy, the figures have been a little better in recent years. Since in 2017, 50% of HLM applicants were single-parent families, compared to 40% in 2023. However, the municipality, which has not yet reached its obligatory quota of 25% of social housing, will have to continue to build because it only accounts for 18% today.