Energy-inefficient housing: energy audit becomes mandatory
It was not an April fool's joke: on April 1, 2023, the energy audit became mandatory for the sale of energy-inefficient housing, more familiarly called "thermal flats". What are the consequences for owners, buyers and real estate professionals? Answers in this article.
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Since 2006, the sale of a property must be accompanied by a DPE (diagnosis of energy performance). It evaluates the energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of the property, classified from "A" for highly efficient to "G" for particularly energy intensive. Properties with a poor DPE (D to G) will also have to undergo an energy audit in the long term, which must be transmitted to the future buyer.
Which houses are affected?
Since April 1, and as part of the "Climate and Resilience" law, selling a property classified F or G on the DPE, now requires owners to conduct an energy audit. It will also become mandatory for homes classified E from January 1, 2025, and from January 1, 2034 for homes classified D.
TThe energy audit is a mandatory document that aims to make the future buyer aware of the different scenarios for improving the energy performance of the property for sale. In any case, the work will not be required. It concerns owners of individual houses and apartment buildings composed of several dwellings belonging to a single owner (excluding dwellings subject to the co-ownership system) in metropolitan France.
How much does it cost?
This audit can be carried out by certified diagnosticians who already establish the DPE, as well as specialized design offices or architects who have been trained in this field. It is possible to find a qualified professional on the public platform france-renov.gouv.fr.
The Ministry of Ecological Transition specifies: "the amount of an energy audit is not regulated. Their rate can therefore vary from one professional to another". Depending on the estimates and the type of housing, prices can vary from 500 to 1500 euros. But the industry does not seem ready for the moment: only 20% of diagnosticians have been trained to perform the famous energy audit. And the latter must take into account many more elements than a "simple" DPE, including the pathologies of housing related to moisture or structural problems ...
What are the consequences if you want to sell your property?
With this obligation, we go beyond the simple information given by the ECD. A bad energy report, coupled with an audit revealing the real amounts of work to be done to improve the class of the property, may be used as arguments by future buyers to negotiate the sale price of a home downwards, or even delay certain compromises. On the rental side, the freeze on rent increases for F- and G-rated units is maintained, and a rental ban is being considered and will be phased in from 2025 to 2032.
Our role as real estate agents becomes crucial in this context. If you are concerned, we are at your disposal to inform you and anticipate the consequences of this new legal obligation. We will propose you concrete and adapted solutions to accompany you in the different steps: advice, choice of professionals for the realizations of the audit and the renovation works, estimation of the helps you can benefit from... Do not hesitate to contact us for more information!
