Affordable in Paris

On the fourth floor of a residence in Meudon, a picturesque suburb of Paris, Birame Sow’s compact and functional sitting-room feels warm and welcoming. A bouquet of fresh orange and yellow roses sits in a glass vase. “In the summer, we'll set up a table and chairs on the balcony to eat outside,” he says, sipping tea on a corner sofa bathed in natural light with sweeping views of the city’s rooftops.

Sow and his wife feel lucky. In the Paris metropolitan region, Île de France, many people struggle with overcrowded, poor-quality housing. With rising prices and rents among the highest in France, decent homes are increasingly out of reach for middle-income families who don’t qualify for social housing and can’t afford private rentals.

To address the issue, In’li , a subsidiary of Action Logement dedicated to affordable housing in Île-de-France, bought new 1 800 apartments and made them available to around 5 000 young workers, including Sow and his wife. The rent on their two-bedroom apartment costs 20% less than the average in the area.

The shortfall in affordable homes around Paris is estimated at between 160 000 and 280 000 units. In’li is part of a larger government programme called "logement intermédiaire”, which was launched in 2014 to rent homes between 10% and 20% below average markets rents.  

“We’re showing that finance can serve a social purpose,” says Marie-Pierre Piszker, financing analyst at In’li. “We are the only ones combining both green and social impact, and we hope others will follow our climate footsteps.”

Here’s how the affordable and sustainable homes provided by In’li have improved the life of Sow, and thousands of people living in and around Paris.  

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The buildings are mixed, with some apartments for affordable and social housing, and others for the private market. “These affordable housing units are indeed in attractive locations,” says European Investment Bank senior engineer David Morgant. “This helps prevent segregation.”

Morgant played a key role in securing  the loan that the EU’s financing arm signed with In’li in 2020 to support its ambitious project. The collaboration between the two institutions has been so successful that in December 2023 the European Investment Bank bought In’li’s first green bond with a social purpose.

Worth €100 million, the bond backs the construction of 700 new energy-efficient housing units and renovation of around 900 energy-efficient units for middle-income workers and young professionals in the Île de France. The eligibility criteria for these properties are defined by In’li’s green financing framework, which focuses on green investments in affordable housing.

“This is an innovative financing and the first time that the European Investment Bank has bought a green bond in the affordable housing sector,” says Nicolas Lucien, the European Investment Bank loan officer involved in the transaction. 

Like Sow’s apartment, all the new buildings covered by In’li projects are highly energy efficient. “We consume less energy and emit fewer carbon emissions,” says Sow, an energy efficiency engineer who cares deeply about the environment.  

The buildings: 

• cut energy use by over 30%
• use sustainable materials like wood and other renewable materials
• are certified for low-carbon impact and energy efficiency
• have excellent environmental standards, ensuring a high level of comfort, especially in winter.

Less energy use also means lower energy bills, which adds to the savings along with the lower rent. “We feel more comfortable spending on groceries,” says Sow, “and now we can plan to go on holidays a little more often, which is already very good.”

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