My lovely hairdresser is now homeless after the top floor flat in the building caught fire due to a lightning strike.
Her ground floor flat, which she rents, is uninhabitable due to water damage caused by the fire brigade extinguishing the fire.
Cluny council say she can’t have emergency social housing and at the moment she is living in a studio which is really for visiting relatives to an old folks home.
She is having an horrendous time with her insurance company, AXA, and cannot find any suitable flat to rent near to her work.
Has anyone got any idea of who she can turn to for help?
I can’t offer advice Jane, but that sounds like a really difficult situation - she has my sympathy.
Yes, it is awful.
There are four flats in the building, which has just been recently renovated.
Three are owner occupied, one of which is her landlord.
There was a huge amount of damage done to electrical devices in the surrounding area too.
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- What does her insurance cover?
- What are the other occupiers of the building being told about their rights from their insurance?
I am not sure if the owner of the top flat that was struck is considered responible for damage to other flats caused in the course of firefighting attempts… possibly the whole building counts as equally affected by Act of God ie the lightning strike, if the French have the concept of AoG.
Which could mean it’s no one’s responsibility and everyone must look to their own insurance and whatever that covers, instead of claiming off the top flat’s insurance or any building insurance policy that might exist eg insurance held by a freeholder (if that exists in France?) or held by an Association for the building.
- Is it her landlord’s legal responsibility to house her if the accommodation she is renting becomes uninhabitable? I would have thought so whether it’s in the lease or not. Can France Services or her Mairie advise?
Although as water flows downhill she’s got the worst of it, it’s high summer and hot so I’d have windows open to try to dry it out unless it’s been condemned or unless it’s actually being worked on, which I’d guess may not be immediately. Can she camp in a corner with a gas còoker as electric will have been switched off, while she sorts out a solution? Is water still connected to the building? Obvs keep the master switch for electric off as it sounds like electrics now unsafe and will need replacing.
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She says she has her own insurance and her landlord has no other property available.
I suggested she talk to her local councillor, but she just laughed, not helpful apparently.
The Greens run Cluny anf , apparently, if she was a refugee or a recovering drug addict she would qualify for housing.
I am hoping that someone knows more about the legal situation.
Because they were the only house hit they do not qualify for automatic help.
If landlord has no other property available then I would very much sympathise as landlord’s own flat was in the same building. But I would still look into whether as a landlord he is still obliged to provide or at least fund alternative accommodation if the accommodation for which someone presumably has a lease whose expiration is further ahead than this month, has become uninhabitable. He may be financially responsible even if he says he himself is not able to provide alternative accommodation.
She has 900 euros a month to pay for her accommodation, but there is nothing available and she cannot have her dog in the studio, which is baking hot.
I’m glad you said “apparently” as this is dog whistle nonsense. It is incredible hard to get social housing here.
In general this is often dealt with by her insurance. An acquaintance whose house burned to the ground was housed in a gîte for over a year while it was rebuilt.
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It is very difficult to find empty gites here.
Don’t you have a gîte? If and when empty 900€ / month sounds like a nice little earner and your karma level will go through the roof.
Many gîte owners would jump at the chance of steady income over the winter.
Buy a rubber dingy, take it out to the beach just before first light , paddle in when you seen people, speak no English ,carry no documents, you will receive untold amounts of help and be treated much better than people born in the UK who need assistance.
Nigel Farage has entered the chat…
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Thanks, I needed a laugh. 
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Proof please.
You will not get "untold amounts of help " - assuming that you are a legitimate asylum seeker the state will give you accommodation and approx £50 a week for all your expenses. If meals are provided then you get less than £10 a week.
You could have verified this easily online before posting claptrap.
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And the rate of suicide among asylum seekers is high, also indicating they do not have an easy life contrary to some people’s views.
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When my place was hit by lightning a few years ago, destroying the first floor and roof and being swamped by water used by the pompiers, when I returned from hospital after being checked over, the neighbours had cleared many items from the ground floorand a local farmer was in the process of moving large peices to storage in his barn. The insurers were initially very good, paying for rentals (but had to move three times in a year due to availability), but had problems subsequently getting moneys for costs of lost items (lack of paperwork - it all went up in the fire!). Horrible time, took a year to rebuild, lost about €60k overall, but built back better and appreciated value of local community. Good luck to your hairdresser.
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Yes, but she needs it now.
She could have our little house for the winter, but we have to keep it open until the family come in August.
No idea if this is feasible but what about hiring a motorhome for the short term?
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