Good news for shipowners, this unnoticed announcement from Michel Barnier will change everything

2024-10-01 15:08:41

In his general policy speech, in which important announcements were made about taxes or pensions, the Prime Minister also made a revelation about a system closely followed by property owners.

It was not the most awaited announcement nor the one that will be most commented on after the general political speech given by Michel Barnier this Tuesday 1 October. However, it promises to change the lives of many owners or future buyers of real estate.

Discussing the topic of renewable energy, after praising an “ecology of solutions”, the Prime Minister returned to the thorny issue of the energy requalification of buildings. Usually considered essential to reduce energy consumption and therefore act on France’s emissions and carbon footprint, energy renovation nevertheless proves expensive for many owners.

However, some simply have no choice. Among the measures implemented in recent years, one has been particularly criticized. This is the Energy Performance Diagnosis, the DPE, which allows you to measure whether a home is energy intensive, or even “an energy sieve”. In this case, that is, if an accommodation is classified among the worst categories E, F or especially G, the rental will be progressively prohibited.

From 1 January 2025 this will also be the case for class G homes, the worst “energy sieves”. For homes classified F, the calendar provides for a ban starting from 2028, starting from 2034 in class E. We remind you that classes F and G would represent 4.8 million housing units, or 15% of the French real estate stock, according to the Ministry of Health. Ecological transition at the end of 2023. A freeze on rents for these accommodations is also expected. Enough to significantly influence the price of homes and its attractiveness to potential buyers…

This timetable had already been criticized, in particular for some housing in large cities which are difficult to renovate, especially for small areas. The situation could change after Michel Barnier’s announcement on 1 October, as the latter spoke of better focus and “support for private individuals and businesses, in particular for the thermal renovation of buildings”.

But above all it brought about an important change for the DPE. Pending this improved support, the DPE will be “simplified” according to the Prime Minister and his “adapted timetable”. We could therefore see a total revision of the DPE in the coming weeks, whose criteria sometimes considered vague have also led to some abuses. Unreliable according to many experts, the DPE had led to hasty, imprecise and even misleading diagnoses. It could be revised from top to bottom to be more precise. And less serious? A postponement of the calendar will also be closely monitored by estate agents, buyers and sellers…