Toulouse: the rise in energy prices leads to renewals
A few weeks, in Toulouse as elsewhere, many people are faced with difficulties in heating. Some are also worried about the price of their electricity and gas bill.
Not a week goes by without us being challenged by tenants or owners facing difficulties in heating. Last Saturday, fifty of the 750 co-owners of the Amouroux residence in Toulouse met to try to find solutions to soaring energy prices. The opportunity for them to present the creation of a mutual aid collective. “The cost of energy concerns everyone,” explains a co-owner wishing to remain anonymous. We got together so we could discuss the heating issues. Some are in favor of removing collective heating, others want homes to be insulated. We will succeed in finding solutions together. »
“What will happen if we don’t pay the charges?” »
It is also in this but that the co-owners will consult a specialized lawyer next Thursday. “We will ask him in particular what will happen if we do not pay the charges”, mentions a co-owner, also wishing to remain anonymous. On that day, the co-owners will vote or not the budget proposed by the trustee. If it is not voted, the collective heating has every chance of being cut.
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Soaring energy prices: in Toulouse, the revolt of a collective of co-owners
This is what happened in the Adonis residence in Toulouse several weeks ago, arousing the ire of many occupants. “At a general meeting held in July, the co-owners voted to maintain collective heating. But during the budget vote, the trustee asked for 200,000 euros more. It was not financially possible for most people, so the budget was not voted. However, we thought that solutions could be implemented”, we explained Sabine, one of the people concerned, a few days ago.
“The temperature in some rooms is 10 degrees”
Since then, the situation has not changed. “The heating is always off and the temperature in some rooms is 10 degrees. We have an appointment with a lawyer on Thursday but we don’t think things will change between now and December 12, the day of the general assembly. »
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VIDEO. Toulouse: faced with soaring energy prices, an entire residence will have no heating this winter
Conversely to these situations, despite the activation of collective heating, tenants are sometimes cold in certain buildings that are poorly insulated or have outdated heating systems. This is the case for Laura (the first name has been changed) Garcia. Tenant of an apartment in the Bourbaki city in the Minimes district, she assures us that two of the radiators in her apartment have not been working for several years. “I use an electric heater otherwise it works at 14 degrees. I pay 42 euros per month for the collective heating which does not work and 92 euros for the electric heating and the gas. At night, I don’t turn on my radiator, I sleep in warm clothes and socks. »
Promologis indicates that “the Veolia teams are opposed by the tenant’s refusal of access to their accommodation, preventing them from noting any malfunctions of their radiators and from being able, if necessary, to fail or even change them”. A version denied by the tenant. “Véolia doesn’t have my phone number, so they can’t arrange a meeting with me. Furthermore, Promologis never responded to my emails. »
Help to fight arrears
Until April 30, 2023, the Department, in conjunction with Toulouse Métropole, is increasing financial assistance linked to unpaid electricity or gas, as part of the housing solidarity fund, by raising the resource ceilings . “This financial aid will allow the most modest households to pay their bills this winter”, specifies the Department. “After three weeks of setting up the new scales, a 20% increase in requests compared to 2021 has already been recorded in Haute-Garonne”. Requests can arrive through solidarity houses, community social action centers or various social services (for example that of the Toulouse University Hospital).
“A progression is therefore expected and has been anticipated by the services of the departmental council”.