Since August 24, owners of rental accommodation whose energy performance diagnosis is classified as F or G can no longer increase the rent. A consequence of the Climate and Resilience law passed in July 2021.
And this is only a first step. As of January 1, 2023, G-rated accommodation can no longer be rented to a new occupant. On January 1, 2028, class F housing will follow. And on January 1, 2034, all class E housing.
A big cleaning is preparing on the real estate market. The opportunity to set the record straight, according to Étienne Duhot, project manager at Hellio, a specialist in energy savings: “Renting energy-intensive accommodation is indecent. » Indecent for the tenant faced with galloping inflation, indecent for the planet at a time when we must limit our greenhouse gas emissions.
Hesitant owners
A change that will not be an easy task. Housing F and G represent 17% of main residences, i.e. 5.2 million of the 30 million main residences in France. The figure even swells to 7.2 million, or more than 19% of the total stock, if we add second homes and vacant homes.
Not all homeowners are ready to embark on insulation work, which can be expensive. Olivier Colcombet, president of Digit RE Group, a company specializing in real estate appraisal, distinguishes two scenarios: “The young investor, who sees the long term, can put €15,000 to €20,000 into energy renovation, but those aged 65 and over who had this property to improve their retirement will think twice regarding it. »
He has already started to do so. Étienne Duhot entrusts receiving “a dozen requests a day from owners who have not yet decided to sell but are inquiring regarding what can be done. We are also very much in demand by property managers and networks of real estate agencies”.
Read also: MAP. Housing: how many energy sieves are there in your department?
Housing soon to be sold off?
What will those who cannot or do not want to do work do? Some still hope for some adjustments in the calendars, or even derogations. “Someone who proves with a solid case that renovation is impossible without losing too much rental space, who knows”, advances Étienne Duhot, thinking for example of the maids’ rooms in Paris.
Landlords can also decide to withdraw their property from the market or put it up for rent on tourism platforms like AirBnB, which are not subject to the DPE. “This might cause rental tension in certain sectors”, says Oliver Colcombet. We have already talked regarding the maids’ rooms in Paris, we can also think of some old dwellings on the coast…
Last option, and this is where good deals can be found, owners can sell their property, even if it means selling it off. “For the time being, we are not seeing any massive arrivals on the market. But a majority of owners are not yet aware of the deadlines,” observe Olivier Colcombet.
Read also: TESTIMONY. “Owner, I have to do insulation work, my accommodation is classified G”
Real estate professionals agree on one point: so far, there has been no premium for well-classified energy housing or depreciation for lame ducks. “But in a few months, there may be opportunities. Until now, the sellers had the upper hand but the balance of power is being reversed. Everything will depend on the tension of the market”, adds Martin Menez.
Clearly, a thermal sieve will discount less depending on its location. “In Paris, in Haussmannian buildings, you have nothing above E. An apartment in Place des Vosges, even in F or G, it won’t move”notes Martin Menez. On the contrary, some owners will be forced to lower their prices in less attractive sectors. One thing is certain: “In ten years, the price difference between a good with a good energy balance and a bad one will be substantial”, warns Olivier Colcombet.
Properly assess the discount-work ratio
To strike the right deal, you have to get out the calculator. Bevouac is currently carrying out an estimate of the energy renovation work carried out on properties that the company has recently sold. “So far, fifteen properties have been analyzed. This does not give a precise figure but more an order of magnitude. It amounts to €280 of work per m² to go from G to D and around €400 per m² to go from G to B”, details Martin Menez.
For the business to be profitable, it is therefore necessary to properly assess the discount-work ratio: the discount must simply be greater than the work undertaken. For example, a property sold so far at €3,000 per m² must show a drop of more than €400 if we want to bring it to a B. “The important thing is to carefully measure what you buy, to look at the condition of the property, to make a counter-visit with a trusted craftsman before signing the compromise”, adds Martin Menez.
Étienne Duhot also insists on the type of purchase: “On a house, you do what you want. On an apartment, you can be dependent, on exterior insulation, on what the condominium decides. And then, it is better to avoid an apartment on the ground floor or top floor and prefer a totally adjoining accommodation. »
These precautions taken, the pitfalls are not lacking: soaring cost of materials, availability of labor, increasingly complicated bank loan, particularly in rental real estate, possible supervision or capping of rents depending on the sector…
ECD, “an obscure science”
And then, once the work is done, we must hope not to have any unpleasant surprises with the DPE. A survey of What to choose points the finger at the quality of the energy performance diagnostics (EPD) of housing, with sometimes very significant discrepancies.
“I wish I might tell you there’s no risk, but it’s still hard to rationalize. It sometimes feels like ECD remains an obscure science,” concedes Martin Menez. Even though “a substantial investment (insulation of the walls, the attic, changing the frames, etc.) should make it possible to avoid unpleasant surprises. »
Olivier Colcombet also notes that from now on the DPE is opposable – that is to say that a buyer can turn once morest the seller andt in fine the diagnostician if the diagnosis was incorrectly made – and includes an indicative evaluation of the work.
For Etienne Duhot, “An energy audit, conducted by a thermal engineer, in addition to the DPE is essential. It is even mandatory before starting. For the purchase of an energy strainer to turn out to be a good deal, the project must be well anticipated and well supported. »
