Housing crisis: 600 new municipalities will soon be classified as “tight zones”.

What measures has the government announced?

The announcement was made on Friday March 22 by Minister of Economy Bruno Le Maire, Minister of Ecological Transition Christophe Bechu and Representative in charge of Housing Guillaume Kasbarian during a trip to the Basque Country. Facing increasing pressure on the housing market, more than 800 municipalities will undergo administrative reclassification under ABC zoning to create more affordable housing for the benefit of 3.5 million beneficiaries.

In detail, 600 new municipalities, nationally, will be able to integrate tight zones B1, A, or A bis. This development, the government believes, will allow 1.8 million additional people to either be eligible for zero-interest loans to purchase new housing or access intermediate rental housing with rents 10 to 15% below market rates. Two other municipalities experiencing an imbalance between supply and demand will see their stress level increase (B2) to facilitate the financing of new rental housing – an improvement to existing systems that should concern 1.7 million people. French.

Why is this expansion crucial for Brittany?

The final list of relevant municipalities will not be announced until June, with prefects having to consult local elected officials “by the end of May” to develop it, the executive suggested. It is therefore difficult to say how many new municipalities in Brittany will be included in the “tight zone” classification. There will almost certainly be, the region suffering from a worsening housing shortage due to multiple factors: property prices, credit conditions, rising construction costs, the dominance of Airbnb rentals and second homes along the coast… The crisis is deep. However, building with the aim of zero net artificialization (Zan Lo) will become rarer, at a time when Brittany could accommodate 260,000 additional inhabitants in 2050 compared to today. Not eligible for housing.

What permits the classification of a municipality in a tight zone?

Brittany currently has 64 municipalities in tight areas under ABC zoning, including 31 added to the list as of October 2023. Many were already in Île-et-Villaine, including Rennes, Dinard and Saint-Malo. Five Costamaricans joined them (Dinan, Pampol, Perros-Guirec, Plaineuf-Val-André and Plerin), twelve Finistarians (Brest, Concarneau, Crozon, Fussenant, Guipawas, Landerneau, Le Rellec-Cerhuon, Plougas, Paulas l’Abbé, Quimper and Trégunc) and 14 Morbihannais (Arzon, Auray, Carnac, Guidel, Hennebont, Lanester, Larmor-Plage, Lorient, Ploemeur, Quiberon, Saint-Avé, Sarzeau, Séné, Vannes).