'Half-price homes' sites in Paris revealed

The first five sites in Paris where 'half-price homes' for families on more modest incomes will be built have been revealed.

The first 500 three- and four-bed apartments will be built in ZAC Bédier-Oudiné (13th arrondissement), ZAC Saint-Vincent-de-Paul (14th), îlot Croisset (18th), ZAC Gare des Mines (18th) and ZAC Python-Duvernois (20th) and reserved for sale to families on modest incomes and who have 'a connection to the capital'.

The city is providing a €15million grant to finance the building of the first 500 homes on land it already owns. The apartments will be ready for sale by 2022.

Two further sites, with room for an additional 150 properties are under consideration.

In July, councillors in Paris voted to create a new property body Foncière de la Ville de Paris, which will sell properties on behalf of the City, but retain full legal hold of the land on which the buildings site.

Deputy Mayor with responsibility for housing Ian Brossat told the Journal du Dimanche that properties on the site would be sold at €5,000 per square metre, half the current market price for properties in the capital. The lease will last 99 years, with the city retaining ownership of the land.

Buyers will pay a monthly 'rent' of €2 per square metre. Any future sale of these properties will be linked to inflation rather than the property market in Paris.

Applicants must meet certain criteria: they must either live or work in Paris, and currently live in social housing, and their net income must be no higher than €4,500 per month for a couple with one child, or €5,000 for a couple with two children.