1. What is DPE?
The energy performance diagnosis (DPE) is a document that gives an estimate of the energy consumption and greenhouse gas emission rates of your home. It only concerns mainland France and must be included in the technical diagnostic file (DDT) which includes, among others, the asbestos diagnostic, the electricity diagnostic, the ERP diagnostic, the “state of air noise pollution” diagnostic, etc.
2. Why do we have to do it?
The technical diagnostic file is a mandatory document, and the DPE being a part of it is also mandatory. The provision of a DPE is mandatory when selling or renting in mainland France, except for goods intended to be occupied for less than 4 months per year. The energy label of the property must also appear on the advertisements for sale or rental.
3. Who is responsible for doing it?
The EPD must be performed by a certified professional diagnostician. An old version DPE cost between 60 and 120 euros. With the redesign, the DPE will become more technical and more precise, which will force diagnosticians to spend more time studying housing characteristics. Its price will therefore necessarily increase. It should climb between 100 and 250 euros, depending on the size and specifics of the goods. It is up to the owner, seller or lessor to settle the bill.
4. What can be the consequences of an unfavourable diagnosis?
An energy performance diagnosis leading to a poor classification does not entail any particular obligation for the owner. The latter is free to follow the recommendations of the diagnostician and to initiate work to improve, for example, the thermal insulation of the home or to invest in a heat pump. Conversely, he can also decide to sell the property as is.
Regarding rentals, the reform of the DPE anticipates a tightening, already initiated, of the regulations for the rental of F and G classified accommodation, considered as “thermal strainers”.
- Since 1 January, 2021: The lessor of a home with an F or G energy label can no longer increase his rent between two tenants above the benchmark rental index (IRL). And this, even if you did some work before releasing it, or if it is obviously undervalued.
- From 1 January, 2025: It will no longer be possible to rent G-rated accommodation
- From 1 January, 2028: It will no longer be possible to rent F classified accommodation
5. What has changed since 1st July 2021:
a. DPE became legally enforceable:
The DPE was merely informative and was not legally enforceable. But litigation had already taken place concerning erroneous DPEs; the new text only confirms the existing case law. In the event of an inaccurate diagnosis, we recommend that you turn both against the co-contracting party, that is to say the lessor or the seller, and, in subsidiary claim, against the diagnostician. Then you have to choose the foundation, that is to say the terrain, on which you want to act: the hidden defect, responsibility or error. Depending on the basis, a cancellation of the lease or the sale or compensation may be requested. The DPE certainly engages the responsibility of the owner, seller or lessor, like other technical diagnoses (lead, asbestos, electrical installations, etc.) ... but it is not so simple. In the event that the DPE contains errors, the buyer or the lessee may take action against the seller or lessor owner and sue him for damages. But the latter may himself turn against the diagnostician to engage his responsibility and obtain compensation. On the other hand, the situation is different if the seller or the lessor does not voluntarily transmit the EPD or if he mentions false information in the advertisement of sale or rental, with the aim of misleading. In this case, the buyer can then take legal action to seek damages, or even the cancellation of the sale.
b. The calculation method is standardized:
Until now, the diagnostician had, depending on the characteristics of the audited accommodation, two methods at his disposal to perform a DPE. The first, known as "on-bill", applied to homes built before 1948 as well as to apartments with collective heating without individual metering. The score was obtained by dividing the area of the property by the actual energy consumption of the occupants. Problems, this method was considered too empirical; the score can vary significantly if the occupants were more or less cautious (and consume more or less heating for example)! In addition, invoices were not always - knowingly or not - provided by sellers, hence the enigmatic "blank DPE" label sometimes appearing on advertisements.
For the other dwellings, it was the conventional method known as "ECL", based on the technical characteristics of the building (quality of insulation, type of windows, heating and hot water production systems, etc.) that had to be used.
From 1 July, 2021, everything changes! The “on-bill” method is disappearing to make way for a reinforced conventional method, sometimes called ECL-DPE 2021. Among the changes made: the integration of consumption linked to lighting and auxiliaries (fans, pumps, etc.), taking into account renewable energies and geographical location (altitude in particular), etc.
Source: INC Conso
c. New values are adopted
d. The duration of the validity of the DPE:
The validity period of a DPE is 10 years. However, if you have carried out a DPE in recent years, it will only be usable to conclude a sale or sign a lease until December 31, 2024. At the end of this transitional period, all DPEs must follow the new calculation method. Moreover, given the measures announced as part of the climate and resilience bill (which provides for a ban on the rental of thermal strainers by 2028), owners who rent their property have every interest in quickly realizing a new DPE, in order to be able to plan sufficiently in advance any necessary renovation work.
For diagnoses made before1 July, 2021, new provisions will apply to reduce their period of validity. The validity periods will apply as follows:
• The diagnoses made between 1 July, 2013 and 1 July, 2017 will be valid until 31 December, 2022.
• The diagnoses made between 1 January, 2018 and 30 June, 2021 will be valid until 31 December, 2024.
Source: Bureau Veritas
The DPE was merely informative and was not legally enforceable. But litigation had already taken place concerning erroneous DPEs; the new text only confirms the existing case law. In the event of an inaccurate diagnosis, we recommend that you turn both against the co-contracting party, that is to say the lessor or the seller, and, in subsidiary claim, against the diagnostician. Then you have to choose the foundation, that is to say the terrain, on which you want to act: the hidden defect, responsibility or error. Depending on the basis, a cancellation of the lease or the sale or compensation may be requested. The DPE certainly engages the responsibility of the owner, seller or lessor, like other technical diagnoses (lead, asbestos, electrical installations, etc.) ... but it is not so simple. In the event that the DPE contains errors, the buyer or the lessee may take action against the seller or lessor owner and sue him for damages. But the latter may himself turn against the diagnostician to engage his responsibility and obtain compensation. On the other hand, the situation is different if the seller or the lessor does not voluntarily transmit the EPD or if he mentions false information in the advertisement of sale or rental, with the aim of misleading. In this case, the buyer can then take legal action to seek damages, or even the cancellation of the sale.
b. The calculation method is standardized:
Until now, the diagnostician had, depending on the characteristics of the audited accommodation, two methods at his disposal to perform a DPE. The first, known as "on-bill", applied to homes built before 1948 as well as to apartments with collective heating without individual metering. The score was obtained by dividing the area of the property by the actual energy consumption of the occupants. Problems, this method was considered too empirical; the score can vary significantly if the occupants were more or less cautious (and consume more or less heating for example)! In addition, invoices were not always - knowingly or not - provided by sellers, hence the enigmatic "blank DPE" label sometimes appearing on advertisements.
For the other dwellings, it was the conventional method known as "ECL", based on the technical characteristics of the building (quality of insulation, type of windows, heating and hot water production systems, etc.) that had to be used.
From 1 July, 2021, everything changes! The “on-bill” method is disappearing to make way for a reinforced conventional method, sometimes called ECL-DPE 2021. Among the changes made: the integration of consumption linked to lighting and auxiliaries (fans, pumps, etc.), taking into account renewable energies and geographical location (altitude in particular), etc.
Source: INC Conso
c. New values are adopted
d. The duration of the validity of the DPE:
The validity period of a DPE is 10 years. However, if you have carried out a DPE in recent years, it will only be usable to conclude a sale or sign a lease until December 31, 2024. At the end of this transitional period, all DPEs must follow the new calculation method. Moreover, given the measures announced as part of the climate and resilience bill (which provides for a ban on the rental of thermal strainers by 2028), owners who rent their property have every interest in quickly realizing a new DPE, in order to be able to plan sufficiently in advance any necessary renovation work.
For diagnoses made before1 July, 2021, new provisions will apply to reduce their period of validity. The validity periods will apply as follows:
• The diagnoses made between 1 July, 2013 and 1 July, 2017 will be valid until 31 December, 2022.
• The diagnoses made between 1 January, 2018 and 30 June, 2021 will be valid until 31 December, 2024.
Source: Bureau Veritas
For more information, please contact Sabina Aliyeva: s.aliyeva@rosemont.mc
This article is part of our Real Estate newsletter. If you want to receive it please subscribe here..
Sources
https://rosemont-int.com/fr/article/propriete-gestion-de-biens-immobiliers/structuration-de-la-detention-dun-bien-immobilier
https://www.capital.fr/immobilier/nouveau-dpe-8-questions-simples-pour-tout-comprendre-a-la-reforme-1408295
https://edito.seloger.com/actualites/france/diagnostic-dpe-change-2021-article-41002.html
https://leparticulier.lefigaro.fr/article/immobilier-ce-qui-change-au-1er-juillet-pour-les-locataires-et-les-candidats-a-la-propriete-avec-le-nouveau-dpe