While the health crisis should make “rethink life in the neighborhoods”, the elected officials of the CNL Dieppe fear the merger announced with the other lessor IBS as a setback for proximity to tenants. And this while the director of Sodineuf leaves his place to that of IBS.
Didier Marchand and Christian de Baillard du Lys, CNL representatives in Dieppe – Paris-Normandie
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Didier Marchand and Christian de Baillard du Lys, CNL representatives in Dieppe – Paris-Normandie
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Henry Gagnaire will step down as director of Sodineuf at the end of 2021 – Paris-Normandie archive photo
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For representatives of the local branch of the National Housing Confederation (CNL), the general assembly of Sodineuf, which was held on Monday, July 5, 2021, has turned a page that brings it even closer to a new chapter, that of the merger with another lessor, Immobilière Basse-Seine (IBS). It was not strictly speaking at the general meeting, but during the board of directors which followed, that the director Henry Gagnaire made it known that he would be stepping down. And would be replaced by Cédric Lefebvre, who is none other than … the director of IBS. A decision which the CNL opposed, through the voice of its representative Christian de Baillard du Lys.
Fewer tenant representatives
“It was Action Logement, the majority shareholder, who decided on this merger between Sodineuf (9,000 housing units) and IBS (14,000 housing units, headquartered in Le Havre), in line with the ELAN law that any lessor with less of 12,000 housing units must be merged, recalls Didier Marchand, secretary of the CNL Dieppe. We are opposed to it, we would have preferred a joint stock company of coordination (SAC) where each one would have kept his identity, his seat, his organization… ” What worries him is that on one side “There is Sodineuf with a good financial situation and a well-maintained fleet” and on the other “IBS where this is not necessarily the case”. In addition, three elected on both sides, “There will only be three left in all for a sector stretching from Le Havre to Vaudreuil via the Pays de Bray”.
Problems to be solved on a daily basis
A first victory: “We managed to be included, since October 2020, in the negotiations of the merger project. We want to defend the characteristics of Sodineuf, flagship of social housing in Dieppe to be preserved: a small entity, proximity, dialogue. “ This participation made it possible, assures Didier Marchand, to obtain “The creation of a territorial council where I will sit, and which should not be a registration chamber! “ To defend, always, “The social bond, the rapprochement between lessor and tenant to better resolve all problems” (stove rental, lawn tax and parking rent for tenants without a car removed, waiver of the age criterion to obtain a shower, etc.).
“We see people cry”
And the fight is far from over. “Government policy does not promote social housing. Some have lost two thirds of their APL and accumulate rent debts. People are suffering. Here, at the CNL premises in Neuville, we see people crying … But we want to build from new needs, because confinements have taught us a lot: people want large balconies, terraces, thermal insulation but also sound, equipment… We have to rethink life in the neighborhoods. But donors do not have enough resources for this. “ Didier Marchand is about to defend the donors: indeed, the situation is critical.
Henry Gagnaire: “A serene climate”
Are you leaving the management of Sodineuf?
Henry Gagnaire : “I’m not getting off the ship completely. My mandate ends on July 29 (2021), my birthday! My successor has been appointed: it is Cédric Lefebvre. I will stay another six months, until the end of January 2022, to ensure the transition, to support it in making contact with elected officials, in presenting projects. Then, I will still be called upon to provide advice within the Action Logement group, to bring my experience. “
There is an opportunity with the merger on the horizon …
“I will be 70 years old, two more than the age limit provided for in the statutes. And then there is rapprochement in the air. The director who replaces me has been for six years that of the Immobilière de Basse-Seine (IBS) with whom we will merge by the end of 2022. We decided together with our elected officials, in good agreement, of this handover. “
What conclusions can you already draw from these fifteen years at the head of Sodineuf?
“The specificity of Sodineuf is its proximity to its partners, its tenants, its quality of service with very good teams (140 people) who always seek to go further in the response given to tenants, with logiseniors, residences for young employees, social diversity, different types of housing, but also the arts school, the service management, etc. We also thought about the development of Val d’Arquet, the Longueville wasteland, etc. “
Do you understand the concerns raised by the upcoming merger?
“There were some fears at the start, but we talked a lot and worked. Change is never easy. But the climate is very serene. The headquarters of the future entity will be in Rouen, but there will be a territorial directorate in Dieppe with broad responsibilities and powers. With the aim of keeping this proximity. “
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