Long term letting problems!

[Thebiga]

I hope you people that let your places out long term can help with a few questions.

1. Does it not worry you when it comes to the time they are supposed to vacate the property wether they will or not.

2. I know that it has been extended now to the whole year that if the person renting has not got a permanent place to stay that you cannot throw them out when its time to go.

3. Does it really matter what you have in your contract as they could turn around and not leave or can the contarct really be that binding.

4. We rent out gites in the summer months and do get a lot of people asking for lets of 3-4 months and we always turn it down as we are worried about them not leaving and then we would have problems for other people coming in.

5. Of course someone could show you the latest phone bill or EDF bill for a property under there name but how do you know that they have not just sold that property and in theory have no other place to stay?

Thanks

[Chancer]

[quote user="Thebiga"]

 I know that it has been extended now to the whole year that if the person renting has not got a permanent place to stay that you cannot throw them out when its time to go.

[/quote]

That is news to me, very bad news if it is true, where did you come by this information?

[Thebiga]

I read it on the internet that a certain minister a week before the 'Cannot throw anyone out in winter' date ran out said that it had now been extended to the whole year! I also I thought that I read it in one of the 'English version's of the french papers like connexion'.

But as I said I'm pretty certain that I did read it and i thought that a thread possibly under 'Gites' had gone over it as what do people doing long lets do now.

[NormanH]

 I know that it has been extended now to the whole year that if the

person renting has not got a permanent place to stay that you cannot

throw them out when its time to go.

That is news to me, very bad news if it is true, where did you come by this information?

I have not seen anywhere that the  1st November-March 15th  'trêve' has been extended .

On the other hand the actual practical process of getting out tenants who don't want to leave can be very long-drawn out.

I

quoted a case a while ago of someone whose legal proceedings went on so

long after the March deadline that the second year's trêve had already

started as the 1st of November had passed.

That was where they weren't paying.

In other cases where they are being unreasonable but paying it can be almost impossible in practice even if possible in theory.

.

[BJSLIV]

I think they are probably referring to the Minister's statement that nobody will be evicted, at any time of the year, until they have been found somewhere new to live..

http://www.lefigaro.fr/actualite-france/2009/03/12/01016-20090312ARTFIG00483-boutin-pas-d-expulsion-sans-relogement-.php

 

[Clair]

[quote user="BJSLIV"]I think they are probably referring to the Minister's statement that nobody will be evicted, at any time of the year, until they have been found somewhere new to live...http://www.lefigaro.fr/actualite-france/2009/03/12/01016-20090312ARTFIG00483-boutin-pas-d-expulsion-sans-relogement-.php[/quote]

Translation of the article:

12/03/2009

Boutin: "No expulsion

without rehousing"

Three days away from the end of the winter eviction truce, in an

interview with Le Parisien newspaper the housing minister promised  alternatives to the eviction of bad-faith tenants.

Unconvincing solutions, say housing charities.

"There

will be no more people on the street, no more evictions without

alternative housing," says Housing Minister Christine Boutin. "This

comes into immediate effect."

"A préfet will no longer sign an eviction order without

offering alternative housing or temporary accommodation to tenants unable to pay

their rent," said the minister. She is about to proclaim this loudly to the

préfets on Thursday, while travelling to Chalons-en-Champagne. The

minister said the measure applies both to so-called "good

faith" tenants as well as "bad faith" tenants, those who can afford to pay their rent their homes but choose not to.

Funded by the Housing Act

How will this measure be put in

place? The principle is framed by the Law on Housing. It introduced a

"rental mediation" to act between owners, associations, leaseholders and tenants. The system put in place initially to prevent risk of unpaid rents is tasked with a new function: that of becoming a guarantor of

the tenant. "An association or social landlord may, as far as the

owner is concerned, be a substitute for tenants in financial difficulty," said the minister.

At the end of the meeting of a

Committee to prevent eviction, tenants will effectively be offered either rent support from an association

or the leaseholder, or a relocation by the préfet.

What about funding for

intermediary associations which pay the rent? "The Housing Act has provided specific

funding for the intermediary associations which will pay the rent," assured the minister when

contacted by LeFigaro.fr.

The 1990 Law on the winter eviction truce is

still in force, although it is somewhat hollow.

Officially, between March 15 and November 1, tenants not paying their rent

can still be evicted from their rented homes.

"A measure which already exists"

The question is whether the

préfets are actually able to rehouse the evicted. "It's obviously

easier in the provinces than in the Ile-de-France," concedes Christine Boutin, who

offers the caution: "we never built as much social housing at we are doing". The

associations point out that there are 1.5 million applications for social housing already outstanding. A demonstration is also scheduled on Sunday in

Paris at the invitation of associations for "the"massive construction" of real social housing.

The associations of housing assistance have immediately responded

to the minister's announcement. The NLC (National Confederation of Housing) and

DAL (Right to Housing) both consider it insufficient. Their main

concern is that evictees are offered only temporary shelter, not a

permanent relocation.

Especially as a year-old circular already proposes these

same measures, argues the Abbé Pierre Foundation. François Fillon had sent

to all prefects a circular ordering them when evicting "good-faith" tenants, not

to call the police without an offer of a "long-term rehousing alternative". So what is new? Asking prefects to

"ensure" they "offer at least a solution of temporary accommodation" and

the fact that "bad-faith tenants are also included".

On the side of owners, for the National Union of Property Owners

(UNPI), "there are currently few evictions by the police without

alternative accommodation. This announcement does not change much."

The UNPI is also concerned that "the tenant is no longer motivated to pay rent,

since the Minister has ensured that even bad-faith tenants would be

rehoused."

[Thebiga]

Thanks Clair, I knew I had seen something along those lines somewhere. The fact of not being able to get people out if they do not have a house or somewhere else to go was correct then in theory.

Where on earth does this leave people that do long lets it really is a bit of a dodgy game is it not. We get a fair few enquiries at this time of year for 3-4 months but to me they always sound a not right when they are asking. As in they are selling things in the area and they want a lock up garage for the stuff they sell or maybe is it somewhere to put all the furniture thay had in the last house they had! I don't think I am willing to take the risk on a long let.

What do others think that do let, Are you ever worried? 

[Clair]

I too get enquiries for long-term winter lets.

They are always keen to reassure me they will leave before the summer rental season, but I am unwilling to take a chance.