the rents of the most energy-intensive housing are frozen

As provided for by the Climate and Resilience Law of August 22, 2021, it is now prohibited, throughout the metropolitan territory, to increase the rent of housing classified F or G in the energy performance diagnosis, the “DPE” (primary energy consumption greater than 330 kWh per square meter per year).

Compulsory when selling or renting a home, the DPE indicates its energy consumption and its level of greenhouse gas emissions, according to a scale ranging from A (low energy consumption and low pollution) to G ( very energy-intensive and very polluting).

This rent freeze measure came into force on Wednesday August 24 in mainland France and must apply from 1^er July 2024 in Guadeloupe, Martinique, Guyana, Reunion and Mayotte. She was already in force since January 2021 in the so-called areas “tense”the municipalities where the imbalance between housing demand and supply is the strongest.

Read also Who lives in the five million “thermal sieves”?

In practice, when a new tenant arrives, it is therefore now impossible for the owner to charge a rent higher than that of the previous tenant, regardless of the location of the accommodation. Both large cities and rural areas are affected in the same way.

Housing rented empty or furnished

The new tenant can check compliance with this obligation: when renting empty and furnished accommodation, the lease must mention the amount paid by the predecessor.

Moreover, in these dwellings classified F and G, it is now also impossible to practice, during the lease, the annual rent increase according to the evolution of the rent reference index (IRL).

Read also Tenants more free to carry out energy saving work

If the accommodation is located in an experimenting area rent controlsuch as Paris, Lille, Lyons, Montpellier or Bordeaux, and the rent is lower than the minimum amount set by the prefect (called “minus reference rent”), it is not possible to increase the rent to bring it up to the amount in the event of an F or G to ECD.

Finally, if the lessor carries out improvement works, he can no longer plan for a rent increase as a result of these if the accommodation remains labeled F or G.

This rent freeze concerns accommodation rented empty or furnished, including those rented under a mobility lease, intended for people in training or professional mobility.

However, seasonal rentals are not covered by these measures.

Other provisions in the coming years

The solution to avoid this rent freeze: carry out energy-saving work to change the energy label of the accommodation. “Easier said than done when you’re in co-ownership and the co-owners don’t want to do anything!” »however, launches Alexandre Fitussi, co-founder of Beanstock, a platform specializing in rental investment.

In this case, he advises asking a diagnostician for all the possible initiatives to improve the energy label of the accommodation without soliciting the co-ownership. “Sometimes changing the window or installing a thermostat on the radiators is enough to improve the situation, with expenses that remain acceptable”he points out.

Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers Energy renovation of housing: several new features on July 1

Another pitfall: many tenants do not know what the energy label of their home is because the owner has not provided the DPE. “It’s much more common than you think and it’s a real problem! »regrets Mathieu Chantalat, co-founder of the Smartloc online rental platform.

If the tenant has doubts about the energy performance of his home, especially when his heating bills are very expensive, he should ask the landlord for the document. If the latter does not respond, the tenant can seize the departmental conciliation commissionwhich manages disputes between landlords and tenants.

Mandatory energy audit in the event of sale postponed to 2023

The Climate and resilience law of 2021 also imposes the realization of an energy audit during the sale of individual houses and buildings held by a single owner, when these dwellings are labeled from D to G by the energy performance diagnosis (DPE).

For the most energy-intensive dwellings, F and G, this obligation was initially to come into force in January 2022. A delay had been granted until 1^er September 2022. The entry into force of the measure has, once again, been postponed this summer, to 1^er April 2023 (decree of August 9, 2022). An energy audit is a more in-depth analysis than a DPE, with work prescriptions and information on their cost.

In addition to this rent freeze for energy-intensive housing, other provisions aimed at encouraging owners to carry out energy-saving work should come into force soon. So, from 1^er January 2023, it will be prohibited to rent accommodation consuming more than 450 kWh per square meter per year. And between 2025 and 2034, accommodation rated F, G and E will be phased out of rental.

Nathalie Coulaud