Government cracks down on fake energy performance diagnostics

Promising "zero tolerance" towards the "handful of diagnosticians (...) who carry out fraudulent DPEs, complacent DPEs", she stressed how this tool was "essential for defining the level of quality of a property with regard to its energy consumption, the bills it will generate in terms of heating (...) and the impact it has on the climate".

He must be "irreproachable," she declared on TF1.

The Minister of Housing then presented her "action plan" to federations of diagnosticians, training institutes, certification bodies and parliamentarians during a meeting at the ministry.

The DPE gives a rating from A (the best) to G (the poorest) depending on numerous parameters, such as wall and roof insulation and the heating system.

This note, mandatory for all transactions and rental leases, is increasingly decisive in determining the value of a property for sale.

It is taken into account in the granting of aid for energy renovation and if it is too low, it prevents the rental of the accommodation.

Each year, 4 million DPEs are carried out, among which the Economic Analysis Council identified 1,7% of fraudulent diagnoses, or 70.000, according to the minister.

"That's 70.000 too many, we must move towards zero," she said at the meeting.

"The more information we have, the more accurate the DPE will be," but this search for information takes time, assured Jean-Louis Kersac'h, director of a diagnostics company, during a visit by the minister who was attending the performance of a DPE of an apartment.

However, he has often heard of diagnosticians who are asked to "make four diagnoses per day, with a bonus for the fifth."

Hence Valérie Létard's desire to use artificial intelligence and the DPE database of the Ecological Transition Agency (ADEME) to "better identify and better control" suspicious behavior by diagnosticians, such as 10 audits carried out in one day across France.

"Big ticket"

It also wants to geolocate diagnosticians, assign them a QR code, as well as to the established DPEs, in order to verify their reliability.

Inspections will be quadrupled to inspect each of the 10.000 diagnosticians each year, and penalties will be more severe: up to two years of banning from practice in the event of fraud, compared to six months currently.

To limit the pressures experienced, the DPE will no longer be issued immediately after the visit, but later and in electronic form.

These pressures are rife, according to Jean-Louis Kersac'h: "emails in which the customer says they expect a C grade," "threats not to pay us," "offers a large bill." "Every day, customers tell us 'your DPE is not good,'" he reports.

Alban Chanemougame, an independent diagnostician, confirms: "I have already lost a client who preferred to hire a cheaper diagnostician but who works in ten minutes and is therefore less reliable."

"Real estate agencies have already asked me to adjust diagnostics, such as the number of square meters, it doesn't just affect DPEs," he explained to AFP.

Valérie Létard also wants to look into the creation of a possible order of diagnosticians, post-baccalaureate training and better control of diagnostician certification and training bodies.

These announcements were welcomed by Yannick Ainouche, co-president of the Real Estate Diagnostics Alliance. They correspond to proposals he has been promoting for two years.

He wants to go further in sanctions with the creation of a "disciplinary body" and in training with "a BTS course at bac+2".

The ban on renting out the most energy-intensive housing, classified as G, since January 1st has been criticized by many right-wing elected officials, who claim that it is exacerbating the current housing crisis.

Regarding aid for energy renovation, the minister recalled on TF1 that 229 million euros of fraud were prevented in 2024, via the detection of “44.000 fraudulent MaPrimeRénov’ applications”.