In condominiums and HLM, energy prices are driving up collective heating costs

Marie (those referred to by their first name wished to remain anonymous) received the mail at the beginning of September. Seqens, the lessor of his social housing in Pré-Saint-Gervais (Seine-Saint-Denis), near Paris, told him that the monthly charges for his 27 square meter studio, including collective heating, went from 37 euros to 87 euros per month, an increase of 135%. “These 50 euros increase is what I managed to put aside each month on my retirement, which is below the minimum wage. I had to reduce the budget devoted to outings and clothing, and I am unbeatable on the prices when I do my shopping. »

With her teenage son, Aminata does not live very far, in a T3 in the city of Francs-Moisins, in Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis). She saw her monthly charges jump by 75 euros from the 1^er January, before even receiving the mail from its lessor, Plaine Commune Habitat. “We are told about the tariff shield, she says, but for the moment, it takes nothing! »

Such an increase in charges is not totally new. From the end of 2021, the sharp increase in demand for natural gas, linked to the end of the economic crisis due to Covid-19, had caused an exceptional increase in prices on world markets. The “Observatory of co-ownership charges”, published Monday, November 21 by the National Real Estate Federation (Fnaim) of Greater Paris, thus reveals that overall charges increased by nearly 7% in 2021 in the capital, due to sharp increases in energy prices, the item “heating, energy and fuels” having climbed nearly 20% between 2020 and 2021.

This already sustained increase flared up after Russia invaded Ukraine in February. Seqens is one of the lessors who were forced to renew their contract at the worst time. “The price has increased sixfold, and as this is a contract whose price may vary depending on the market, we are not immune to further increases”recognizes its managing director, Stéphane Dauphin. On the side of Plaine Commune Habitat, Sabil Feghouli, charge manager, argues that “the significant increases in charges applied from January will prevent tenants from paying large sums during the regularization”.

Households heated collectively with gas “less assisted”

The hardest part is yet to come, says the president of the Social Union for Housing (USH), Emmanuelle Cosse, who was housing minister under François Hollande. “Half of social housing, that is to say 2.5 million of them, is collectively heated. Some of the occupants are for the moment spared from the increases, thanks to energy contracts taken out before the price spike. But the majority of lessors will have to renew their contracts in 2023.”she warns.

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