When staff leave an office, a room can remain empty until the following day. In Toulouse, Bureaux du Cœur arranges temporary accommodation for people who are homeless in unused business premises, at night and at weekends. The company provides an equipped space; social organisations refer and support the person staying there. These two commitments provide the framework for the scheme.
An office put to a different use after the working day
The principle is simple to describe: a company makes a room in its premises available when they are not being used for its business. The space must allow someone to sleep there and store a few personal belongings. The specifications set out by the association include a sofa bed, access to bathroom facilities, a fridge, a microwave and a chest of drawers.
A stay can last up to six months. This is therefore not simply a matter of lending a room for one night, but of opening up a place over a longer period, even though the premises remain workplaces. They retain their professional use and can accommodate someone while they are unoccupied, at night and at weekends.
This arrangement is based on an initial observation by the association: offices are said to be occupied around 30% of the time. This figure summarises the potential availability of premises, but does not mean that every empty office can be converted into accommodation. A suitable space, equipment, a willing company and coordination with social organisations are all required.
Referrals from social organisations
The people accommodated are not identified directly on the street by the association. They are referred by local partners: local youth employment services, municipal social action centres (CCAS), work-integration schemes or charities supporting women who have experienced violence, among the examples cited in Toulouse.
This step distinguishes the scheme from simply making premises available. The partners know the people and their circumstances; employment-integration professionals support them throughout their journey. Temporary accommodation is thus part of social and professional support, rather than relying solely on the relationship with the host company.
For companies, the framework also addresses practical concerns and the prejudices that can surround hardship. The association supports organisations for several months to deal with administrative, logistical and human issues. The commitment is therefore not simply to hand over a key and leave each party to manage on its own: it requires preparation and designated contacts.
Available premises are not enough
The model relies on a particular resource: a heated business space that is unused at certain times but can be adapted sufficiently to accommodate someone. Its value lies in repurposing an existing place. Its practical limitation is just as clear: each site must be able to provide the specified facilities and organise cohabitation between accommodation and business activity.
The scheme does not present this accommodation as permanent housing. The stated duration, up to six months, makes it a temporary step. Its connection with support from social partners is therefore central: the available room provides a roof and a foothold, while the integration journey is part of broader work.
In Toulouse, the association says that nine companies are already taking part. The group includes organisations of different sizes, from very small businesses to large groups and public services. This diversity shows that accommodation does not depend solely on large office buildings; it does not, by itself, indicate how many people are being accommodated or the scheme’s total local capacity.
Mobilisation takes time
Companies are not the only actors needed. The scheme also depends on organisations that refer people and on volunteers who contribute to local development. According to a report by ICI Occitanie, the Toulouse branch relies on around ten volunteers and is seeking to expand its network of partner companies.
Across Europe, the association says on its page about its presence that it has 44 branches and 400 volunteers. These figures give an idea of its network, but do not describe the activity of each branch. In Toulouse, the concrete figure remains the nine committed companies, with support that can last several months before accommodation is arranged.
For a company, the useful question is therefore not just whether an office remains empty after closing time. It is also necessary to determine whether a space can be equipped, whether access can be organised and whether social partners are available to refer and support people. It is this combination, more than the amount of unused space alone, that determines whether a workplace can be turned into temporary accommodation.
References
- ICI Occitanie, “Bureaux du Cœur: when Toulouse businesses’ premises become welcoming refuges at night”
- Bureaux du Cœur, “Our presence”
An unoccupied workspace. Illustrative photo, unrelated to the partner companies in Toulouse.
