Ian Brossat: "Paris has been able to build social housing even in the most bourgeois district thanks to the 30%"

BarcelonaIan Brossat (Paris, 1980) was a Paris housing councilor from 2014 to 2023 and is now a senator for the Communist Party. This Monday, he was in Barcelona to participate in the non-permanent study commission on housing, where he defended the effectiveness of the 30% social housing reserve in the French capital.

Housing is one of the main concerns of Barcelona residents. What is the situation in Paris?

— Similar. But since 2001, the city has attempted to address this problem by massively expanding public housing to limit the effects of the market and maintain the working and middle classes in Paris.

What has been done?

— Housing expansion policies that have been consistently implemented for 24 years and have never been reversed. This has allowed us to go from 13% of social housing in the city to 25%.

As?

— Through urban planning regulations and, of course, funding. In the case of urban planning, we established that any newly constructed building must have 30% social housing. Furthermore, any development zone in the city must have a minimum housing quota, and within that quota, a portion of social housing.

How many homes have been built with 30% in Paris in these nineteen years?

— On average, 500 social housing units per year. Obviously, this isn't the only way to produce social housing, but it has brought about two major changes. With 30%, social housing is no longer just being built on the outskirts, but within Paris itself. And not just in specific neighborhoods, but in every neighborhood. Also in the center. In the 16th arrondissement, the most bourgeois, in twenty years we've gone from 1% social housing to 8%.

How does it work? There's little new construction in Barcelona due to the lack of available land.

— Paris is a dense city, although not as dense as Barcelona. We lack land, but there is still real estate activity that allows us to apply this rule. Most of the apartments purchased through 30% are conversions of buildings from offices to residential buildings.

When did the measure begin, what was the reaction of the promoters?

— The initial reaction was negative. But little by little, the measure has been widely accepted by the real estate community. It applies in Paris, but also in many other French cities, including those on the right. What developers are telling us today is that they want stable and clear regulations.

Now they have modified the measure.

— Yes, the 30% rule has remained consistent for years. Last year, it was strengthened. In neighborhoods with very limited social housing stock, the reserve should be 50%.

Here, the standard hasn't yielded the expected results. Why?

— Perhaps it's because in France, social housing is still a very established policy, aimed at the most disadvantaged families, but also at a portion of the middle class. This explains why it's a policy with widespread support.

Would leaving major renovations out of the 30% limit be detrimental to the measure?

— This is what Paris did until 2000: moving social housing and low-income populations outside the city limits. Thirty percent seek the opposite, avoiding the ghettos of the poor and the rich.

And beyond the 30%, what is Paris doing to have more social housing?

— After urban planning regulations, the second pillar of action is a public investment policy. Paris buys office buildings and residential buildings and transforms them into social housing. This policy, in fact, is currently the most effective and allows us to continue providing social housing even in a city where we are building less and less.

One of the problems with housing is that it takes a long time to build. Is this also the case in Paris?

— A long time. Four or five years. Not because it's too bureaucratic, but because almost all projects end up in court due to citizen protests. In France, going to court over housing is a national sport.

Barcelona wants to eliminate 10,000 tourist apartments in five years. Is this a good solution for housing?

— Yes. In Paris, we've also implemented a policy aimed at limiting tourist rentals, and we recently changed the national law to allow cities to be tougher on Airbnb. We've also decided that new tourist apartments will no longer be allowed in certain neighborhoods.

And do you also have problems with seasonal rentals?

— No, because the housing regulations we have in France for renting apply to temporary housing from day one.