Christophe Béchu, the Minister of Ecological Transition, announced it during his vows on January 31. “In mid-February, I will announce a simplification of the DPE which will make it possible to maintain the ambition of the initial schedule while making the system more reliable for small areas and implementing flexibility measures which will allow owners and tenants to address the date of January 1, 2025 with more confidence,” declared the minister, without further details.
In an interview with Le Parisien, Monday February 12, Christophe Béchu announces “simplifications” in the face of the “complexities” and “biases” of the new energy performance diagnosis (DPE) of a home. “There is a calculation bias that I am announcing to correct with a decree for which we are launching consultation this week,” declares the minister.
“The smaller the surface area of a home, the more the share of domestic hot water weighs on its classification, without any real link with the number of occupants,” he says, which results in the fact that “more than 27 % of very small goods, those less than 40 m2, are considered as sieves, which does not reflect reality.
11% of the real estate stock of surfaces of less than 40 m2
A correction should therefore allow, according to him, that 140,000 homes of less than 40 m2 fall out of the energy sieve category (labeled F or G). “The housing units which will have their label improved represent 11% of the real estate stock of these areas,” assures Mr. Béchu.
Established in 2006, the DPE classifies housing from A to G based on their energy consumption and, since 2021, their impact on the climate. A new DPE, which came into force in July 2021, takes into account the impact on greenhouse gas emissions from housing. It is no longer based on occupants’ energy consumption bills but on the physical characteristics of the building.
Since January 1, 2023, the most energy-intensive housing (classified G) has been prohibited from renting and, from 2025, the rental of all housing classified G will be prohibited by the Climate Resilience law to achieve the objectives climate of France.
“We are not touching the calendar and the ambition, but we are going to clarify certain rules which apply on January 1,” adds Mr. Béchu. A first government amendment will be tabled during the Senate reading of the bill on degraded co-ownerships to emphasize that “January 1 is not a cut-off date”. It will specify that “the need to have carried out work to re-rent a G-class thermal sieve will only apply at the time of renewal of the lease, either by tacit renewal, or upon change of tenant,” specifies the minister.
A second amendment will allow, according to the minister, that as soon as co-owners vote in a general meeting on work on common areas, the ban on renting will be “suspended for two years from the date of the vote, the time for it to carry out the works “.
Announcements to simplify the MaPrimeRénov’ energy renovation aid system should also be made following a meeting on February 15 with the construction industry.