Increase in EPC fraud due to "economic pressure"

The proportion of fraudulent energy performance certificates (EPCs) has increased since 2021 and particularly concerns housing that risks losing value due to a poor rating, according to the EPC reliability analysis start-up KRNO.

KRNO analyzes, semester after semester, the DPEs (which give a rating from A to G) filed on the database of the Agency for the Environment and Energy Management (Ademe), to estimate the proportion of "complacent DPEs": the over-classifications of a dwelling that is close to passing the next level.

KRNO estimates that 3,4% of EPCs have an incorrect rating, particularly for properties classified as E, F or G, which are being progressively banned from being rented out by 2034.

"10,9% of EPCs rated F are actually G, 16,1% of E ratings are actually F and 7,9% of D classes are actually E-rated housing", details the second edition of the KRNO observatory of EPC fraud, published on Friday.

The start-up also sees a clear increase in fraudulent EPCs since 2021, the share of which is estimated to have risen from 2,6% to 4,3% among new EPCs carried out during the first half of 2025.

According to the study, the DPE "does not withstand economic pressure": "the more expensive a letter is, the more the temptation to 'win a letter' explodes".

Ruben Arnold, head of KRNO, fears that the reclassification of F-rated housing into substandard housing and banning it from being rented in 2028 will prove "terrible for the system," which he believes needs improvement.

The discount on the sale of an energy-inefficient home can be very significant: compared to a house with an energy label of D (median rating), a house rated G sold on average 25% cheaper in 2024, and an F house on average 18% cheaper, according to the High Council of Notaries (CSN).

For apartments, those rated G sell for 12% less than D-rated apartments, and those with an F rating for an average of 8% less.

"Labeling truly plays a role just like condominium fees in the choice" of buyers, stressed Élodie Frémont, notary in charge of real estate statistics for Paris and Île-de-France, on Monday.

Sales of F and G-rated homes had increased significantly between 2021 and 2023, but the number of transactions has declined slightly since then. In 2024, F and G sales represented 15% of existing home transactions, according to the CSN.

Illustrative image of the article via Depositphotos.com.