http://www.sudouest.fr/2015/03/05/proprietaires-a-la-rue-1848633-2780.php
If you're thinking of letting out a property this may give you some pause for thought.
Its not so much a prob for the owner, the have their truck in which they lived for a year in Africa, what is disturbing for me is the fact that this family has 4(!) kids, dragging them into their dubious lifestyle, what will come out of this poor kids once they are old enough...
I remember many years ago I inadverdently issued a cheque in francs for about £20 which bounced due to a transfer not arriving in time. I promptly got a letter from BNP telling me to sort it PDQ or else it was an emprisonable offence in France. I didn't fancy doing porridge on Devil's Island. Papillon had just come out!
David, sure everyone honours equal social rights, yes that's theoretical fine. Still, legally speaking, not paying rent = lease fraud, which also is valid law in France. People with four kids, how irresponsible...
The first's period of hiding there was 35 days, this one has been there some years with probably a few before him...
We now have to watch out for yet another little man hiding behind the red walls of the Kremlin.
Re pensions you might take a look at this research by Which as it seems to confirm that French state pensions are in fact better than UK ones on average. The expats have been helped recently by therise of the £ but Mr H will be taking some of that in some cases.
http://conversation.which.co.uk/money/uk-state-pension-comparison-serps/
My points about benefits scroungers (of which there are indisputably many both sides of the Channel) is leading to immense and dangerous social disquiet, the evidence of which will be plain enough in the forthcoming elections. Just look at the immense rise in population in the UK without appropriate additional provision of housing, infrastructure, health facilities, schools, defence etc. I hasten to add that I am very pro EU and anti UKIP.
Likewise Peter, that's what makes it interesting. Dinner party rather than pub, though.
You're right!
Why let the truth get in the way of a good story ?
I would hope the majority of posters are expressing their true thoughts? I certainly try to...
Just as well; now there was megalomania, thinking he could succeed where marvellous Nap came unstuck. (Not going to go into all the myriad - at the very least - other reasons H simply wasn't anything like & in every way imaginable, utterly inferior to N).
And so, if we'd only known the "full story", which appeared 24 hours later in the same newspaper, we would not have had all the fun of this discussion, and I wouldn't have dreamed of inferring that these unfortunate tenants were deadbeats. I don't know about you, but I find that most newspaper stories leave out so many facts and important details. It is as though they are designed to provoke speculation, idle gossip and cynical comments from people like me, as opposed to reporting the facts.
Not that this news story provided so much more information than the story of the day before, but at least we now have a testimony from the tenants' lawyer, and that's good enough for me;-)
Reading the posts on this site are reminiscent of eavesdropping on chitchat in a British pub.
Some posters share actual legal/regulatory details, others share about personal experiences, others wax lyrical on stories of stories told by storytellers in other places and times.
All in all, it is fun trying to discern the characters and motivations behind each post.
Hitler learned nothing from the little Corsican. Thank God!
No David, with respect french state pensions aren't that much different to the UK pensions at the end of the day. The average french pensioner generally isn't any more or less well-off than their UK counterpart. The system of calculation is, like most things in France, totally different so fairly difficult to guage. The UK 'came into line' with the french a few decades ago when private pension schemes were more widely available tho' of course such schemes were already pretty common place in the professional ranks . The french system is related to earnings and length of time worked or the length of time entitlement has been validated by work or unemployment or sickness et al. The thing that is crucial in any society is the spending power. This dictates just about everything else it seems.
I'm not particularly defending tenants or landlords but to say that all tenants are slime bags who destroy a property, don't pay the rent and sponge off the system is pretty silly just as it is wrong to say all landlords are blameless paragons. Landlords openly choose to earn money from their premisis and they know the risks involved.
The landlords can and do take out insurance to cover any bad debts and the 'caution' or deposit paid by the tenant can be withheld to pay for repairs etc. The Assurance Proprietaire' is an important policy to take out as any landlord can bee covered for a bad tenant who destroys the property. The tenant can be billed for work carried out tho' the tenenat is rarely in a position to pay so the insurance kicks in. Landlords can claim for the repairs to be carried out through their insurance company (fortunately) so the poor old landlord isn't out of pocket.The majority of properties are still rented in France tho' the gap between home ownership and renting is closing. That is to say many millions of people rent properties and the vast majority of these tenants are decent people like you and me. A small minority in rented accommodation are indeed dishonest down and outs looking to pull a fast one but this will always be the case in any society.
The rest of your post ie reductions or exonerations of TV Licence or Taxe d'Habitation etc etc can apply to anyone whether they are tenants or home-owners so totally irrelevant to this discussion.
It must have seemed like a good idea at the time... poor Nap, much maligned, & very foolish expecting Russian roads & weather to be up to scratch for a bit of invading.
But as I said Nap can Do No Wrong since he is a big hero in this house at least, along with the lovely & splendid Alexander & Augustus (these are my daughters' pin-up boys, huge arguments when they were little & even now as to which is best).
Just one small point of FACT for you Peter- state pensions in France are somewhat larger on average than in the UK. I don't see even a smidgen of reality or honesty in the idea that you seem to promote that a renter usually or often knowledgeably takes a place with a premeditated intention of not paying the owner (who may himself be a pensioner depending on the income and who cannot afford legal costs of eviction). That is one person or family taking it out on a person who may be very adversely affected. I am no great supporter of state or commune intervention but it seems to me that society more generally should take the rap. The tenant may also be excused Taxe d'Habitation, TV licence and may be in receipt of state benefits some of which are based on the tenants ability to freely procreate at other people's expense. There are other state benefits too, such as lower fees at garderies where income tax banding is done in France. Where help is due OK for the really needy (even if alcohol or drugs have taken their toll) but don't take it out on somebody who individually can't afford to give away what small income may be generated. When you do get possession the least they could do would be to leave it clean, without damage or internal graffiti (seen on a Brit owned rented house in our village) or drains blocked with large quantities of dog hair. Maybe they could even offer to redecorate instead of paying rent. There are lots of ways to make even token amends, and on day of the week!
But a very appropriate and shockingly true Saturday morning rant at that!
Sounds like a few SFN members as well as many brits over here would relish the UK system in France. The harder the better, strip the more unfortunate of even their basic rights. There seems to be a worrying undertone among some brits of a non-compassionate, i'm all right Jack cos' i've got my nice cosy UK pension, you should be grateful we won the war for you attitude which doesnt bode well for the future. Well, hold on to your hats people because the gap between rich and poor is getting wider almost everywhere and things are going to get a whole lot worse...
I'm glad to be in France with at least some social protection for the more unfortunate, spongers and those who dare to be unemployed included.
Rant over.