The Gyptis is a former university residence with 259 accommodations which has experienced a descent into hell since 2018. Two owners collected rent there despite a danger order.
Eight thousand euros fine and six months in prison, for one suspended, for the other closed due to previous convictions, were requested against two owners for having collected rent despite a danger order striking a degraded condominium in Marseille, described as a “vertical shanty town”.
The two studio owners of Gyptis, a former university residence of 259 accommodations which experienced a descent into hell from 2018 before being transformed into a point of sale of narcotics, disputed having knowledge of the implementation order. security concerning common areas signed on February 22, 2022.
In this building, completely evacuated in March 2023, there were numerous water leaks due to damage by squatters and the very degraded electrical installation, exposed cables or circuit breakers replaced by aluminum foil.
68 interventions by firefighters
The president of the criminal court mentioned 68 interventions by firefighters over a short period, notably for 16 fires. An owner living in Morocco placed the responsibility for the undue collection of rents during the period covered by the peril order – February to November 2022, on the manager of his 28 m² studio, purchased for 29,650 euros in March 2020. The manager takes care of everything, from A to Z, and the trustee, I have never seen him,” explained this Moroccan who had bought this studio without even visiting it.
The representative of the real estate agency, against whom the prosecutor demanded a fine of 15,000 euros, maintained that he had never been informed of the decree, the copy displayed on the building having very quickly been torn down by the traffickers. The other owner, who had acquired two studios for 60,000 euros, was told, in June 2022, by one of his tenants that he should no longer collect rent, but had nevertheless issued a receipt for the month of July . “I was in Algeria, I don’t check my emails,” he replied, also assuring that the cessation of payment of part of the rent by CAF from March 22 had not alerted him.
According to the trustee, the 187 co-owners had been informed of the ban on collecting rent. The lawyer for two tenants, Me Aurélien Leroux, demanded reimbursement of rent unduly collected and 5,000 euros in moral damages. The defense pleaded for a general acquittal. The judgment will be rendered on July 1.