Don't mention the Germans..............
Seems to be Napoleonic law forbidding landlords to eject families with smaller children during the winter
The Germans left plenty of marks on the walls round here when they last visited, lots of little holes. They were very rude, helped themselves to everything and everyone then scarpered off home, even taking the pictures which they then took to Switzerland. My first neighbour seemed very annoyed with them, on account of them taking him prisoner at Verdun, and even spat at every one of them who had the misfortune to pass his house.
Happily we have Toulouse in our other habitation, commonly known as Chateau de la Penurie, Vieneuve sur Notalot. When I bought the original house, back in '72, there was Pasdelouse there but the adjoining forest served well. Neither was there any running water; every morning I made a quick sortie to our hillside source, brushing away the frogs, and carried large jugs of water, but not on my head, to the house, where my dutiful first wife was waiting to heat water to bathe our newborn in a large baby bath (which we also used) in front of the roaring fire. Ah yes I remember it well.
Most tenants are normal and reasonable. I've helped several friends with their holiday lettings, greeting guests and also cleaning flats. I'm in area with lots of tourists from everywhere. Every flat owner I know has their theory about which nationalities are responsible and tidy, and which are irresponsible pigs. Every time an owner has proven their theory to be true, another visitor comes along to shatter the myth (and perhaps a few objects in the process) :-)
I wish news articles provided more in-depth information. Then we would have less to speculate about. Perhaps the owners were offered lodging, but refuse it on principle because it helps to draw attention to their case in the hope that the process will speed up? I'd like to know the tenants' particular circumstances, whether their inability to pay the rent is due to illness or other serious circumstances or a cunning ability to manipulate the law in their favour. Don't les familles nombreuses receive support from the state? 500 euros per child x 4 children = 2000 euros per month ? Or am I imagining this figure?
Luck does seem to play a big part Rachel. I've seen and met some really nice 'respectable' people of varying nationalities who have been pigs ! I recall a friend who rented a mill in Charente over an easter break to three british couples who were all teachers. In two weeks they had managed to almost destroy the place !
Saying that, the vast majority of tenants seem to be normal, reasonable people who just want to get on with their lives tho' of course it's always the bad cases who make the headlines.
You don't sound too 'flush' then David ?
Yes, you are right of course Peter. I guess I mean really that it is better to do short term holiday lets rather than have people in full time. So any nationality. You might make less money, and it is more work and organisation but perhaps more peace of mind. There is no solution. I just think being a landlord/landlady is a great risk, but not all horror stories. Just luck of the draw.
270 a month was the best I could get around here- we are very isolated and not very touristy. So that's 3240 a year. Replace loo and replace a few bits and bobs say 400 euros but a contribution towards redec say 200 euros, total 600 euros. At least I didn't have to pay the Taxe d'Habitation- he got it free natch. Impots allows me deductions. The income is not much but I did buy the place 43 years ago for £2000 and spent about £10000 on improvements. In fact the actual yield is not bad compared to properties in London but there is very little capital appreciation which is where the UK knocks spots off France. I ALWAYS tell people not to come to France and expect to make spectacular gains on property. It's a lifestyle choice. Anybody fancy living in the cottage for a while. Great place to write a book, get over a divorce etc (maybe both at the same time!)
But Rachel, you can't "get them out when you want to" - even brits have rights ! People cannot be turfed out onto the streets during the 'trève hivernale' or are you talking about non-legal tenants with no rental agreement etc ? Even then they can probably claim squatters rights !
The tenants met with the deputy mayor. The tenants made an application for 'social housing' for the family within the commune but the deputy mayor said the request waas being sorted out but it won't be a quick solution.
The owners have started a petition to get support knowing full well the law is against them.
'Urgent' temporary accommodation is being sought for the owners. (As I read it)
It amazes me the neighbours haven't volunteered to offer a bedroom chez eux ! Maybe they have but the owners have refused ? Must be a pretty unfriendly lot in that area ! My first instinct would be to try to give the owners a roof over their heads.
I was advised to only let to Brits, as at least you can get them out when you want to, which is far more difficult with French citizens. Personally I have let to a French woman who wrecked the place and stole all the furniture! and the state was still more on her side than ours! :)
I retract my statement about deadbeats. I should not call squatters deadbeats. I don't know the circumstances of this family's plight, but I sense there is something off about them if they think it is fine to stay in the owners' house while the owners live outdoors. They could at least offer to share the space and not occupy the entire house.
So who is applying for alternative property, David. Is it the squatters or the owners?
Presumably the family will then claim squatters rights ?
The squatters may not be 'deadbeats', many people who can't pay their bills are not necessarily 'deadbeats' ! The owners saw who they were dealing with and decided to go ahead.There is never any guarantee that all will be tikitiboo.
I have no particular sympathy for the ownersor tenants actually but maybe they would have been better to have passed by an agency tho' this isn't always perfect either. My ladyfriend is in rented accommodation. Work needs to be carried out including the hot water & heating electrical systems plus other minor jobs including the fitting of a smoke detector. The saga has been going on for months but the owner can't be bothered. The tenant has rights too but the owner can also flaunt the law. It works both ways...
Alternative property has been applied for in this case so maybe the matter will be resolved soon.
Inlaws do that too, they rate the french as much tidier than Brits but American's far worse. Two years ago a hysterical American woman complaining about the flies in the house they rented for their holiday. we went round and followed the smell to the bathroom. 5 dirty diapers on the bathroom floor open to the air, not bagged and binned.
But did you still make some money after repairing the loo?
Someone I know has decided to only let to the French as Brits, more often than not, leave the house in a tip.
Short term lets to holiday makers seem to be a better bet but the season is very short in Brittany- you can't really assume more than 12 weeks a year but the weekly rent is about the monthly rent paid by some impecunious and wretched local tenant - I am sure there are good examples. Holiday makers these days insist on all the toys- when I started coming here it was not necessary to make the place seem like a branch of John Lewis. A crisp walk followed by a roaring fire, a good book and some nice food and wine were all that tenants were looking for. Those factors that had driven me here in the first place!Now it's all flat screens, ipod docks and wifi. Can't even get a mobile signal anywhere near my cottage.
I'm trying to understand the legal logic that somehow it is acceptable that the owners become homeless and have to live without water and electricity, but not the deadbeat tenants. As a tenant, I can understand why rental agencies in France have to collect so much information on me before letting a flat. Surely all that information could be put to use in a database of deadbeat tenants? Those blacklists exist in some cities I know. Landlords can find out if someone has a bad credit rating and decide not to let. In this case, what happens on April 1st? Can the owners have a court order ready and bailiffs that physically remove the tenants from the property?