Created by law n ° 2007-308 of March 5, 2007, this measure provided for in article L.271-1 et seq. Of the code of social action and families makes it possible to support people benefiting from social benefits who know serious difficulties in managing their budget.
Concretely, the MASP is a contract concluded between the beneficiary of social benefits and the department, represented by the president of the general council or the persons delegated for this purpose such as the communal center of social action (CCAS), a tutelary association ...
Conditions of access to the MASP
Several conditions must be met to benefit from a MASP, you must:
- receive social assistance
- have serious budgetary difficulties endangering the safety and health of the persons concerned and that of their families
The conclusion of a contract with the department
The purpose of this contract concluded with the department is to enable the beneficiary of social benefits to find "the conditions for autonomous management".
The priority is to ensure that social benefits are not diverted from their purpose. Thus, assistance paid for housing, or for the maintenance of children, must not be used to repay debts, to buy a car ...
This contract also makes it possible to provide the beneficiary of social benefits with assistance adapted to their needs. This translates into individualized support and practical advice to learn how to control your budget.
This could mean taking over all credit contracts to renegotiate the amount of the installments with creditors, find arrangements with bailiffs if foreclosure procedures were in progress, fill out an over-indebtedness file, etc.
The initial duration of this contract is between 6 months and 2 years, depending on the seriousness of the situation. However, it may be renewed once in accordance with Article L.271-2 of the Social Action and Families Code (i.e. for a maximum period of 4 years).
If the beneficiary does not respect the contract
We must not lose sight of the fact that a contract binds the parties. It is conceivable that the agent responsible for the measure does not provide sufficient assistance to the beneficiary. But the most frequent situation is that the beneficiary continues to divert social assistance from its purpose.
Often, he will think he is acting in good faith. It is very common that, yielding to the insistence and pressure of collection agencies, he will pay his creditors a sum that should have been allocated to the payment of rent, or current charges, without realizing that he is in violation of its obligations.
While others will outright refuse to perform the contract.
Whatever the reasons, if after having subscribed to it, the beneficiary does not perform the support contract and puts himself in a situation of danger by mismanagement of his budget, measures may be taken to protect "without knowing it of its own accord".
Direct payment of rent
If the rent ceases to be paid for two consecutive months, article L.271-5 of the code of social action and families authorizes the president of the general council to refer the matter to the judge so that social benefits are allocated as a priority. payment of the rent.
The request consists in setting up a direct payment in favor of the lessor and that it is a private or social one.
The president of the general council must address a request to the District Court located in the jurisdiction of the beneficiary's domicile.
The request must be appended with all the necessary documents provided for in Article R.271-8 of the Social Action and Families Code, namely: the surname, first name, address, etc. of the beneficiary, of the bodies responsible for social benefits , from the lessor, a statement of the request….
The parties will be summoned to the hearing and the judge will have 1 month (from the hearing) to render a decision.
If the decision is favorable to the president of the general council, it is up to the judge to specify which benefits and which amount will be paid to the lessor.
The duration of the direct payment cannot exceed two years.
The judgment is subject to appeal within 15 days of its notification.
The measure may be renewed once for a further period of 2 years (ie, 4 years maximum).
The beneficiary or the chairman of the general council may request that the measure be lifted if the reasons which justified its implementation no longer exist.
Thus, in the event of non-compliance with the support contract, a court decision will allow social benefits to be allocated as a priority to the payment of rent and rental charges.
It is not a question of depriving the beneficiary of all his social benefits, nor of depriving him of the resources necessary for his subsistence, but of ensuring that he does not increase his rent debt in order to protect the family home to avoid a loss. eviction procedure.
If all these measures do not allow the beneficiary to overcome his difficulties, in particular because he did not respect his contractual obligations, the President of the General Council may send a detailed report to the public prosecutor so that he can refer the matter to the supervisory judge. to set up a judicial support measure (MAJ)
