Tightening of rules around MaPrimeRénov' agents to combat fraud

As part of its fight against fraud in the MaPrimeRénov' scheme, the government published two decrees on Tuesday, June 17, which tighten the rules for accessing the status of agent, which allows the receipt of public aid for energy renovation on behalf of a third party.

The publication of these decrees comes as the government has decided to suspend the submission of new MaPrimeRénov' applications for comprehensive renovations between now and July 1 and until mid-September, due to an excessive number of applications and attempted fraud.

When applying for MaPrimeRénov' assistance, for individual work or for a major renovation, an individual can appoint a fund collection agent, a useful tool to avoid the owner having to advance the cost of the work to a company.

From July 1st, the level of requirements for accessing this status will be raised and documents allowing the State to better monitor them will be requested, in particular an extract from the criminal record and proof of cash flow.

"The regulatory texts published today will significantly strengthen the cash flow requirements of agents, thereby prohibiting "empty shell" agents without means from entering this market," the Ministry of Housing stated.

"The agents will be required to implement an extremely strict control plan that will allow them to be monitored and evaluated," and "sanctions against them will be significantly increased" (up to 6% of turnover), it added.

"Currently, the majority of fraudulent financial flows use the financial mandate system," according to Hugues Sartre, spokesperson for a group of companies in the energy renovation sector called GERE.

"Any legal entity or individual could be a financial agent, and the National Housing Agency (ANAH) has no power to refuse this mandate to an actor," he laments.

For him, "this text is a bombshell in the right direction," which will allow Anah, which distributes MaPrimeRénov' aid, to revoke and sanction a representative who does not comply with the rules.

In 2024, 44.172 fraudulent files were detected by Anah before their payment, which represented 229 million euros of fraud avoided.

Eight million euros in aid is currently the subject of litigation and recovery proceedings, the ministry estimates. The "potential fraud" calculated by Tracfin, an organization that combats clandestine financial circuits, is estimated to be around 50 million euros.

Illustrative image of the article via Depositphotos.com.