We are pleased to welcome another French member to the Eurhonet community: Batigère Habitat. To find out more about our new member, we spoke to Sébastien Tilignac, General Director of Batigère Habitat.

Sébastien Tilignac, General Director of Batigère Habitat

Welcome to Eurhonet! Can you tell us a bit about Batigère Habitat?

“Batigère Habitat is an important social housing company in France. We operate in three key regions: Grand Est, Paris Region, and South-East. We manage over 76,700 dwellings providing a living environment for nearly 180,000 people.

I am fortunate to count on the 1,000 employees of our company who are committed every day to upholding our values ​​of inclusion, social justice, and solidarity.

Founded in Lorraine in 1985, the Batigère Group covers the entire housing journey: supported housing, social housing, intermediate housing, affordable home ownership, and real estate services.”

What is your background and how did you end up working in social housing?

“I am engineer graduated from the ESITC, an engineering school specialised in construction and based in Metz.

I began my career in a major construction company. I then worked for a local authority, where I managed operations for the construction of higher education facilities, followed by urban development projects.

My career path led me to social housing. I have worked for the Batigère Group since 2010. Over the years, I have held various positions such as Manager of the Real Estate Department, Purchasing Director, Group Real Estate Strategy Director, Deputy General Director. Today, I am the General Director of Batigère Habitat.”

What does social housing mean to you?

“The mission of social housing is to ensure access to affordable and quality housing for all, especially for those who face difficulties finding housing in the private sector. It plays an essential role in strengthening social cohesion, supporting neighbourhoods and accompanying the ecological transition.

Access to housing is a fundamental right, but also a major public policy, to which Batigère is proud to contribute.”

Photo courtesy of Vincent Flamion

What are the best and most challenging aspects of your role?

“What is most challenging – but also most stimulating – is keeping in mind that our work has a real impact on the lives of thousands of people. Providing decent housing is much more than managing buildings: it is about contributing to stability, dignity, and social inclusion for many families.

Beyond my personal role, social housing is a particularly interesting sector. From new real estate projects to managing our properties, the challenges are many and motivating.

My role is to create the right conditions for each talent to fully express itself, because it’s by valuing each individual skill that we advance the furthest. Furthermore, to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow, we need to know how to surround ourselves with the right people. This requires solid partnerships.”

What are the key priorities of Batigère Habitat right now?

“In an increasingly constrained economic and regulatory context, our company pursues a dual objective:

• The first is still to meet the housing need, which involves investing in the construction and renovation of our dwellings;
• The second is to defend our social model by adapting our management methods, controlling our costs and innovating in our financing.

We aim to be a modern and dynamic social housing company, moving forward and adapting to the context with agility. This involves innovative real estate operations and quality customer services as well as social support in our major neighbourhoods.”

Can you tell us about a recent project that you are proud of?

“There are many projects that we are proud of. Our daily mission is to build, manage, and renovate dwellings. So for us, a well-managed building or a high-quality dwelling is already a motivating achievement.

One of our major recent projects was completing the structuring of our organisation. Batigère Habitat was formed from the merger of three companies, so we had to bring together our skills and unify our working methods to become one. This foundational work has laid solid ground for the future and demonstrates our agility in the face of change.”

Photo courtesy of Ludovic Soranzo

What are the main challenges in the social housing sector in France?

“The main challenge for our sector is to continue developing a supply of housing. Currently, 2.7 million households are waiting for social housing in France.

Moreover, the French Climate and Resilience Law, which aims to eliminate the least effective energy performance labels, is a real technical and financial challenge for the entire sector.”

What made you want to join Eurhonet?

“We heard about Eurhonet through our partner Habitat 08, which is a member.

Based in Brussels, in the heart of the European institutions, Eurhonet brings together several European social and public landlords. This dynamic seemed interesting to us, linking with our reflections on the European Union. Indeed, the Batigère Network (Reseau Batigère) leads a working group dedicated to European funds. As a social housing company, we have access to European funding such as the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

What we hope for as part of Eurhonet is to share perspectives, visions, and – why not – collaborate on future joint projects with other European social landlords.”

What would you like other Eurhonet members to know about your organisation?

“First, we are delighted to join Eurhonet as a new member.

Batigère is a national French social housing company with strong values such as proximity, social and environmental commitment, and a spirit of partnership. A good basis for working together!”