Squats in Toulouse: “There is a need for better social and solidarity support”
Thomas Couderette is a member of the Cedis collective in Toulouse. For several years he has been in the front row to observe the phenomenon of the squat.
How do you analyze the upsurge in squats today?
First, I’m not sure there are more squats now than there were a few years ago. What is certain is that we are in a housing crisis which is unprecedented. The question of squatters is linked to that of precariousness. First, it must be understood that the situation of a small owner who finds himself squatted by French people with very strong political positions is extremely minority. The vast majority of squats are inhabited by migrants, who settle in areas often invisible to the general public, in even more precarious conditions. This does not take anything away from the injustice that some owners may experience. A squat can be very violent.
With your association, you offer solutions to bring together precarious people and supportive owners. What is it about ?
We practice rental intermediation. We offer owners to make their accommodation available to people in great precariousness. In return, the association pays half the rent. The rest goes to the owner but in the form of donations, therefore tax exemption. Concretely, on a rent of 1000 euros, 500 euros are paid by the association, 500 by the owner of which 66% will be recovered on the taxes (330 euros NLDLR). The advantage of this initiative is that it allows people or families who have no resources to find housing.
Could this type of initiative be enough to significantly reduce squats?
This is one of the devices that can help. Today, we accommodate 40 people thanks to rental intermediation. But at the same time, we also need a local strategy. Above all, we need better social and solidarity support for precarious people so that they can get out of their situation.