No tar, no fence. And not even a flag. A surprising future for the residential area is taking shape in Grand-Champ, in Morbihan, 15 kilometres north of Vannes. Under the tall conifers of the former municipal campsite, very close to the swimming pool with its blue facades, seven little houses on wheels have been giving life to a new neighbourhood since the end of August. Twenty-two more of these tiny houses They will soon be joined by a surface area of around twenty square metres. Half of these will be mini-HLMs purchased and delivered by the social owner Morbihan Habitat.
Very simple residences, on communal land, around a central wooden building that the town hall is preparing to erect. The shared dining room, guest bedroom, laundry room and bicycle storage room will compensate for the limited surface area of the accommodation. After investing around fifty thousand euros in its small house, In second-hand housing, residents will only pay 150 euros a month in rent to the municipality; families staying at Morbihan Habitat will pay 240 euros a month.
“The obligation to innovate.” This is the origin of this pioneering subdivision of light housing, according to Yves Bleunven, a senator who was mayor of the small town of 6,000 inhabitants before his election in 2023 as a (centrist) senator: “We are a rural commune in a tense area on the second ring road of Vannes. In twenty years, the price of housing has doubled to nearly 400,000 euros. Rents easily reach 800 euros for a T2. Young workers then move to the third or fourth ring road and spend their wages on petrol. In a few years, the number of pupils in our schools will decrease…” Hence the imperative “a new stage in the residential journey, a temporary solution to access housing more quickly.”
On the wooden terrace that extends a recently acquired miniature residence, Elodie (she only gave her first name, like the other people interviewed), 38, who works in the social sector and shows off her clear gaze with black, shares her relief. A divorce, a house sold, properties at deterrent prices in the area, a return to her parents’ home… And the happiness, at last, of having found this. “There is no place to land”. After taking two steps from the front door to the beautiful living room, he comments: “It is not big, but I feel good there, I am at home, I have an outside, a neighborhood. There is mutual help without the limiting community aspect.”
A small long-term rental.
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