Help for tenants facing eviction

Thousands of families face losing their home in the coming weeks as the annual 'winter truce' comes to an end

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A FREE telephone helpline is to be set up tomorrow to help tenants and landlords as the "winter truce" on rent arrears comes to an end.

The annual trêve hivernale started in November and officially ended at 6.00 this morning. It is designed to prevent landlords evicting people during the coldest months of the year.

According to Le Parisien, about 100,000 eviction proceedings are being handled in the courts and 10,000 of them are likely to go ahead.

The Fondation Abbé Pierre estimates that 38,000 families will lose their homes in the coming weeks now that the truce is over.

A helpline in French for tenants and landlords, called SOS Loyers Impayés, is due to launch tomorrow morning to give legal advice and support. The number is 0805 160 075.

Charities held a series of demonstrations around France at the weekend to raise awareness of the issue.

Confédération Nationale du Logement president Serge Incerti told Libération: "The situation is worse than in October [before the truce began]. All the signs are bad - all the ingredients are there to make 2010 a more difficult year."

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