In 2007, the French State voted a law aiming at ensuring an enforceable right to housing (the “DALO” law): under certain conditions, deprived households who live in inadequate housing conditions, are accommodated by a third, or are homeless, can appeal to an ad hoc commission. If the commission recognises that their situation is urgent and they have priority in front of the law, the State has to offer them housing within 3 or 6 months. Assessments show that the outcomes of this law are very unequal: in February 2016, 58 000 households whose situations were recognised as urgent and who have priority are still waiting to be re-housed, especially in the Ile-de-France region (Parisian region) and in the south of France where poor households can hardly access the housing market. Studies show, however, that the housing market alone does not explain this difference, as the implementation of the law depends very much on the local stakeholders system. Moreover, there is consistent evidence of negative prejudices against “DALO” households, which would slow down the effective implementation of the right they have been granted. This study seeks to understand the processes leading to the production of prejudices towards these households and provide policy recommendations to prevent them. A statistical analysis enables to compare the “DALO” households with other social housing applicants. In addition, a qualitative approach was adopted to better understand the local stakeholders' perceptions, analysing their representations of “DALO” households. It shows how much this law still suffers from a lack of legitimacy, and also highlights the importance of unequal treatment in the implementation of the law, depending on the area.
In 2007, the French State voted a law aiming at ensuring an enforceable right to housing (the “DALO” law): under certain conditions, deprived households who live in inadequate housing conditions, are accommodated by a third, or are homeless, can appeal to an ad hoc commission. If the commission recognises that their situation is urgent and they have priority in front of the law, the State has to offer them housing within 3 or 6 months. Assessments show that the outcomes of this law are very unequal: in February 2016, 58 000 households whose situations were recognised as urgent and who have priority are still waiting to be re-housed, especially in the Ile-de-France region (Parisian region) and in the south of France where poor households can hardly access the housing market. Studies show, however, that the housing market alone does not explain this difference, as the implementation of the law depends very much on the local stakeholders system. Moreover, there is consistent evidence of negative prejudices against “DALO” households, which would slow down the effective implementation of the right they have been granted. This study seeks to understand the processes leading to the production of prejudices towards these households and provide policy recommendations to prevent them. A statistical analysis enables to compare the “DALO” households with other social housing applicants. In addition, a qualitative approach was adopted to better understand the local stakeholders' perceptions, analysing their representations of “DALO” households. It shows how much this law still suffers from a lack of legitimacy, and also highlights the importance of unequal treatment in the implementation of the law, depending on the area.
