The end of the winter break is approaching: it is scheduled for March 31. With it, the owners will have the right to expel the tenants from their accommodation. A situation feared by many tenants, who sometimes fail to pay their rents in time. This is the case of Steeve Rose, 39 years old. He has been with disabilities and lives in temporary accommodation since 2020. Invoices, debts and the weight of an expulsion weigh on his shoulders.
Steeve Rose moves with difficulty, a cane in the hand: ” I have a bone disease on both hips. It crumbles and it makes holes. And at any time, it can break. »»
The thirties no longer works. He leaves little from his 30m² which he shares with his companion. On the walls painted in blue, he stuck posters The Academy of Heroes and One Piecehis favorite manga. All day long, television keeps him company. She is there for series, video games or as a musical background:
“” Currently, the only passion we have left – since travel is not possible, outings, quite complicated –this is the game console. This is the only hobby I have. Or if not, with my companion, we make small walks in the neighborhood to ventilate our heads. Even to leave for three days, we can’t do it. I have medical fees to pay, bills to pay, plus rent to pay. With 1 100-1 200 euros, we don’t get too much. »»
Moon, a gray coat, rubs at his feet. While he is about to jump on a remote -controlled toy, something sneaks between his legs: ” You see huh, a passing cockroach, he came to greet us (laughs)! Since last year, I have been fighting with cockroaches. It’s hard to sleep because when you sleep, you feel things. We wake up, we see that it is a cockroach. When you have things to eat, you close everything. The cockroach will still nibble the closed sachets inside. Suddenly, we are forced to throw, it is not easy. »»
To read or listen tooEnd of the winter break in France: “More and more people are put on the street by the police without solution”
The anxiety of ending up on the street
The apartment is unhealthy, dangerous even. Last year, a catch ignited. Paradoxically, the biggest fear of Steeve is to leave this accommodation. The end of the winter break is approaching: ” I must not stress, I must not anxious, I must try to stay zen, but I cannot. The month of March is approaching, and at the end of March, the mail will arrive: I have to put the premises back and I do not know where to go. My companion has no place too, so we both end up on the street. »»
Steeve Rose has been waiting for social housing for ten years, but his file is blocked by his rent unpaids: ” I have all the good will, all good faith, I give everything I have as money for rent. I made a request for FSL (Solidarity Fund for Housing, Editor’s note) to be able to pay my rents from rents. It is a state aid, but it has been refused, because the amount of my debt is today 6 600 euros. »»
Running after aid, asking for money from loved ones, jumping meals several times a day … Steeve Rose can no longer support this situation. He despairs and sums up his condition in a sentence: ” It’s not a life, it’s survival. »»
Read tooFrance: The winter break ends in the middle of the housing crisis