Social housing in Toulouse: when unpaid bills plague landlords
Some philanthropic owners invest in solidarity rental for precarious populations. But real estate agencies with a social vocation do not always do their job.
Not all landlords who rent out their property are driven by the lure of profit alone. There are even those who invest in apartments intended for people living in great precariousness via associations responsible for managing this solidarity. This is the whole purpose and vocation of social real estate agencies subsidized by the public authorities to ensure access to and maintenance of underprivileged populations in housing by capping rents. Except that the follow-up is sometimes faulty and that the philanthropic owners have trouble recovering their rents, even modest ones. This is the galley in which Dahbia Kabous finds herself today, owner of a studio in a residence on avenue Aristide-Passerieu, in Les Pradettes, whose tenant no longer pays the rent. “I had chosen to go through the Soliha agency, which benefited from a financial system from the State to precisely prevent delicate situations and unpaid bills, she explains. When tenants are in difficulty, the agency is supposed to provide them with support to solve their problems. But in this case Soliha let me down and did not come to the aid of my tenant who now owes me more than 2,200 euros”.
Soliha, “obscure management”
Dhabia Kabous is particularly upset against the association. “I bear the brunt of the chaotic management of the agency, which ignored my numerous requests, while the rents have not been paid to me in full for more than a year. We, the small landowners, thought we were supported by these structures, but they flee at the slightest difficulty”. The owner points to the “obscure management” of Soliha, which did not even do what was necessary with Visale insurance, as is customary, to recover the unpaid. “They didn’t do the file on time, even though I’m paying for the insurance. It’s a serious breach, ”says Dhabia Kabous who decided to attack Soliha to recover his due. “I blame the agency, not the tenant,” she continues. They hide and do not help those they should help. These are public funds that are not being used wisely”.
Director’s explanations
Pierre Castéras, the director of the Soliha agency recognizes that there was a “problem” with the management of this case and the insurance. “We take note of it and we take over the file”, he agrees, while explaining that the tenant in question had left the social support system to which he initially belonged. The owner would still have to be informed… But Pierre Castéras remains straight in his boots. “We did our job,” he said. Dhabia Kabous, she is reduced to recovering part of the unpaid hand in hand with her tenant and to dip into her savings to raise her three children. Not funny.