Toulouse: the eviction of a historic tenant brings tears to his neighbors in Bagatelle
Ahmed was evicted from his social housing, under the control of a bailiff and under the surveillance of the national police, in the Bagatelle district of Toulouse, on October 21. This historic tenant on rue du Gard, with a disability, had lived in a 2-room apartment for almost 30 years. He had nearly €4,000 in unpaid rent, and would have refused a plan to clear his debts, according to his landlord.
“I’m shocked, I’ve known Ahmed for years, he’s a good, helpful man who helps everyone all the time. He’s been living here for 30 years, and now he’s being fired like this, for overdue rent he started paying off? It’s inhuman” Sophia, her neighbor, cannot hold back her tears.
Ahmed, recipient of the disabled adult allowance (AAH), has lived since 1995 at 12 rue du Gard, in the Bagatelle district of Toulouse. He was evicted from his two-room apartment on October 21.
A rent debt of nearly €4,000
His neighbors were flabbergasted when they saw a moving truck, the bailiff and several police officers arrive on the morning of October 21 to evict him and empty his apartment. Ahmed had a debt of €4,000 in rent, which he had started to repay up to €1,700, according to his statements.
On the sidewalk of the building, moving boxes, Ahmed’s belongings. “I’m ashamed, look my whole life is there in front of people’s eyes,” sighs the man in his fifties. He doesn’t want to be photographed, refuse to see his face in the newspaper, “it’s too hard, I want to keep my dignity”.
“Here everyone knows Ahmed, when I was little he sold ice cream in the neighborhood”,
“Here everyone knows Ahmed, when I was little he sold ice cream in the neighborhood,” says another resident. “We had other relationships with the managers of the HLM office before. The presidents passed by here, we greeted each other, we talked to each other. Now we get kicked out for nothing, ”adds a neighbor, who contacted The Midi Dispatch when he saw the bailiff and the police arrive, and who wanted to tell the story of Ahmed.
Yvette, Ahmed’s neighbor for 30 years, is also devastated. “But Ahmed he doesn’t say anything, he doesn’t complain. We could have helped him if we had known. We wouldn’t have come to this,” adds a local resident. His brother will now help Ahmed survive in the coming days.
“4 payments in 2020, 0 in 2021 and 8 payments in 2022”, says the lessor
At Toulouse Métropole Habitat, the lessor, it is explained that it has come to eviction, “a very rare case”, because Ahmed refused the help offered. He did not want to set up a debt clearance plan. A completely different version than that given by the tenant.
“Rent payments were no longer honored from April 2020. With a rent of €267.16, the tenant account had a debit balance of €3,865. We received 4 payments in 2020, 0 in 2021 and 8 payments in 2022, less than the amount of the rent. Toulouse Métropole Habitat specifies that six orders to pay were issued by a bailiff before a summons at the end of 2021. A judgment was rendered in January 2022 pronouncing the termination of the lease. “The bailiff went several times to the accommodation, without being able to meet the tenant”.
“Our goal is to offer solutions from the first late payments, and thus prevent families from falling into very complex over-indebtedness situations.”
Ahmed explains that he suffers from a very debilitating social phobia, and that is why he receives an allowance. He specifies that he has encountered payment difficulties, because he has not received this allowance for months. Toulouse Métropole Habitat indicates that the organization’s mission is to house people who are sometimes in very precarious situations.
“The tenants, the families concerned, receiving the AAh or not, are the subject of benevolent support from our local or collection/litigation teams. The objective being to offer solutions from the first delays in payment and thus prevent families from falling into very complex over-indebtedness situations. Debt staggering, identification of aid, connection with the Maisons des Solidarités (MDS).”