Méru (Oise)Nacre district. Several buildings stand opposite the station. From the outside, time has not spared some of them. The faded color of their facade says a lot. At the foot of 5 of the Acacias ring road, the door remains open. In the entrance, arrows indicate where you can easily find hash. The prices are not far from being written on the walls. When the elevator closes its doors, you must bring your flashlight. And don’t be claustrophobic.
On the third floor, Fatma Korgon, a forty-year-old of Turkish origin, raises her children alone in a basic apartment. Including a 29-year-old daughter with a disability, with whom she must constantly stay. Barely entering the home when a smell hits the nose, that of mold on the walls combined with ambient humidity. Disillusioned, the mother shows, using a flashlight, her walls covered in mold. “A leak broke out in the bathroom, we mop it up every day», Shows one of her friends. Ditto in the toilets, where the leak knocked out the electricity in the entire apartment according to the tenant. “She had to lower the toilet lead so it wouldn’t start again.», specifies her friend. Ditto on the ceiling of his daughter’s bedroom.
A kerosene stove to heat the apartment
In the kitchen, the window is open and the light is on even though it is daytime. “This is to prevent cockroaches from coming out of the walls.», she whispers. In the living room, a kerosene stove is placed in the middle of the room. Only source of heat in the apartment. “I have been here since 2014, the underfloor heating has never workeddeplores the tenant, exhausted. I install a second stove on the other side when it gets really cold.»
Each month, Fatma pays €450 in rent to the social landlord Clésence – the rest comes from APL (housing assistance). But also €63 for the cleanliness of the common areas, or €94 for the heating which it does not have, among other things.
His rehousing request pending since May
Today, the 46-year-old mother can’t take it anymore, and wants to do everything to leave this tower where she moved ten years ago, and find decent housing to raise her children. Problem is, his requests for rehousing remain unanswered for the moment. “The tenant was received by the agency manager on December 4 at the Méru premises, confirms the social landlord. A request for housing adapted to the family composition and the needs necessary for the presence of a person with a disability has been active since May 15, 2024.»
In her request, the mother even indicates that she wants to leave Méru, where she sees no future for her children, above the drug dealers in her tower. “I would like to live in Beauvais, but at the moment there is no placeshe laments. Even if it means having fewer rooms.»
For its part, Clésence claims to have intervened regarding several problems encountered by the tenant. Concerning the large leak which causes a high presence of humidity on the walls and ceiling, the problem would come from the apartment above. And should be fixed. Regarding heating, the social landlord indicates that only one request was made, in November 2023, and that an intervention was carried out on November 26. And for pests, disinfestation was carried out in October 2024. “A disinfestation campaign is scheduled before the end of January», specifies Clésence.
In the meantime, Fatma is patient, hoping that accommodation meeting her expectations will become available near Beauvais.
