It is an evil from which many French cities suffer, and especially Saint-Étienne (Loire) which, although the 14th French city, has lost 50,000 inhabitants in 50 years: the vacancy of commercial premises. The municipal teams follow one another but the problem remains. In the city center of Saint-Etienne, there are today 600 ground floors abandoned and considered as “warts”.
The town hall has decided to tackle the file: “We no longer want to see these premises which give a catastrophic image of the city”, announces Jean-Pierre Berger, first deputy in charge of town planning. “In the neighborhoods concerned, the inhabitants feel a malaise and we see a whole bunch of excesses developing in these unoccupied spaces, like squats. »
30% of the amount of the rehabilitation works covered
For businesses and vacant ground floors directly overlooking the street, the town hall has set up a plan that it hopes will be effective. It consists of offering, on a case-by-case basis, exceptional assistance to each owner wishing to carry out rehabilitation work. “When a shop or ground floor has been vacant for more than two years and work is to be carried out, we contribute 30% of the amount, up to a limit of 45,000 euros in subsidies”, explains Jean-Pierre Shepherd.
In case of refusal of the owner, he will be taxed. “We sent a letter to everyone to inform them and understand why they did not want/could put their property back on the market. If there is bad faith, we will charge a fee. This amounts to 10% of the rental value determined by the tax services, after two years of vacancy. Then it climbs to 15 and 20% in the following years. For each unoccupied and unrehabilitated ground floor, the owners will have to pay several hundred euros per year.