A new DPE formula from July to fight against energy strainers

An overhaul of the Energy Performance Diagnosis (DPE) based on a new calculation method comes into force on July 1 for rental or sale housing as part of the fight against "energy strainers", announced Monday on Ministry of Housing.

The DPE, created in 2006, provides information on a scale from A to G on the energy performance of a home and in particular guides choices in terms of renovation work.

The DPE calculation method now eliminates the reference to energy consumption on the basis of past invoices to rely "on the physical characteristics of the dwelling such as the building, the quality of the insulation, the type of windows or the heating ", specifies the ministry.

This change will bring "more reliability" and avoid "blank DPE" in the absence of an available invoice which represents nearly 20% of the DPE carried out, according to the same source.

From July 1, this new DPE will become "legally enforceable" in the same way as other building diagnoses, such as those relating to the state of electrical installations or the presence of asbestos or lead, specifies the ministry.

The F and G labels of this new DPE will designate, as soon as it comes into effect, the housing units qualified as "energy strainers". Their number is estimated at 4,8 million by the latest study from the Ministry of Ecological Transition.

These two categories of housing will have to be renovated otherwise they will be excluded from the rental market by 2028, with two intermediate stages: the first in 2023 with a ban for the most energy-intensive housing (more than 450kWh per m2 per year) and a second in 2025 for housing classified G.

The new "energy" label will take into account "both primary energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions," said the ministry.

The DPE will also include recommendations, whether it concerns renovation work or good housing uses, and will give an estimate of the cost of the work to be undertaken.

DPEs made before July 1 and within the limit of their current validity (10 years) may nevertheless still be used to conclude sales or real estate leases during a transitional phase which will last until December 31, 2024, specifies the ministry.

This overhaul of the DPE was provided for in the Elan law (evolution of housing, development and digital) of 2018.