Artisanal Tension Index (ITA): the ranking of the regions and departments best and worst off in RGE craftsmen

Access to RGE craftsmen, a sine qua none condition for benefiting from renovation aid

In order to encourage the French to energy-efficiently renovate their homes, the government has put in place aid that is now well known, but which is conditional in particular on the completion of the work by an RGE craftsman. However, only 5% of construction companies are labeled RGE (69.000 companies out of the 1,3 million eligible for it), with large differences between regions: there are thus 7,6% of RGE companies in the Pays de Loire, 7,4% in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté or Brittany, 7% in Normandy, but only 2,9% in Occitanie, 1,8% in Ile-de-France, 1,3% in Provence- Alpes-Côte-d'Azur and 0,7% in Corsica.

The artisanal tension index: a means of measuring accessibility to artisans RGE

If the number of RGE companies domiciled by municipality is available and already instructive data, Heero, a player in the financing of energy renovation, has gone further by calculating an index of artisanal tension (ITA) on metropolitan French territory. This index makes it possible to measure the level of accessibility to an RGE craftsman, taking into account actual renovation needs. This index thus takes into account the topography of each municipality, its housing density and its accessibility in 30 minutes by road. It is between 0 and 100,0 corresponding to zero tension and 100 to very high tension (few/no RGE companies available with regard to the needs of the building stock).

On the scale of France, it appears that the average ITA is 54 out of 100. More precisely, half of the municipalities in France have an ITA between 46 and 61, testifying overall to a medium to high tension on the territory. "One in four municipalities in mainland France has a strong to very strong artisanal tension with an ITA greater than 60, which means in practice that individuals cannot easily find RGE companies and are unable to have the work by a certified company and therefore to benefit from aid for energy renovation" analyzes Romain Villain, Managing Director of Heero.

Heero thus studied the ITA of each region, based on the average of the ITA of the municipalities of the region, but also that of each department, in order to deliver a more detailed analysis of the distribution of RGE craftsmen on the territory according to the needs. .

The regional classification of artisanal tension

The regional analysis of artinal tension confirms that the AIT is strongly linked to the topography of each territory (for example, mountainous or coastal areas), to their main urban areas, as well as to the population density and the number of accommodations.

The three administrative regions with the highest artisanal tensions are Corsica (76/100), the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region (69) and Brittany (60), with each of the specificities that can explain this observation but also points in common: "We note that the artisanal tension is stronger in the tourist regions, which is explained by a weak presence of RGE companies and a concentration of the population on a portion of the coast as well as a park of second homes important and often aging. And when the region is also mountainous like Corsica or part of the PACA region, there are also the problems of accessibility to construction sites” explains Romain Villain, general manager of Heero.

Conversely, the regions in which artisanal tension is the least strong are Ile-de-France (48/100), Grand Est (50/100) and Hauts-de-France (50/100), with, however, strong regional disparities. “The Ile-de-France region has the most favorable average ITA thanks to its large employment pool, but also to the density of the road network. However, it is the region that presents the most disparities within its territory since Paris is one of the departments most in tension. It is therefore a region full of paradoxes,” observes Romain Villain.

Indeed, Ile-de-France is one of the regions in which the share of RGE professionals is the lowest: only 1,8% of the 255.500 building companies are RGE, ie just over 4.550 companies. However, only 1% of the territory is located in an area of ​​very high artisanal tension (23 municipalities only). This good score, like that of the Hauts-de-France and Grand Est regions, is explained by a balanced establishment of craftsmen who, unlike the other regions, are not concentrated in direct urban areas but are spread over the whole of the territory.

The best and worst off departments

Unsurprisingly, the most tense departments are consistent with the tension of the region to which they belong, as is the case in Corsica and in the PACA region. Paris is nevertheless an exception, since it is the 2nd most tense department, while it is located in the least tense region!

Indeed, if Ile-de-France is the region with the least tension overall, this is not the case for Paris (75), which is characterized by one of the strongest artisanal tensions in France (77/ 100, 2nd in the departmental ranking). There are several reasons for this: only 361 RGE-certified companies are present, which represents less than 1% of building companies domiciled in the capital. Moreover, these businesses are mainly located in the boroughs in the outer ring of the city.

For Romain Villain: “Paris is one of the departments with the strongest artisanal tension because the number of intramural craftsmen is low there while the need for renovation is very strong there: 20% of Parisian buildings are thermal sieves. Given the rent levels but also the difficulties in moving around Paris Intra-muros, craftsmen prefer to settle in the rest of Ile-de-France, such as in Val-d'Oise or Yvelines, two departments where artisanal tension is low. »

Among the less tense departments, in addition to those belonging to the Ile-de-France region (Val d'Oise, Yvelines) or to the Grand Est region (Meurthe-et-Moselle), we note the presence of the Territoire de Belfort (Bourgogne -Franche-Comté) and Calvados (Normandy), departments in which RGE companies are relatively numerous and well distributed with regard to renovation needs.

Review of

These rankings established by heero highlight the inequalities of access to an RGE craftsman between regions, but also between departments within the same region. However, since the use of the services of an RGE craftsman is essential to benefit from public aid for energy renovation (MaPrimeRénov, CEE), we note de facto that all French people will not be able to access them in an equitable manner.

For Romain Villain: “While the government's ambitions in terms of energy renovation have never been so strong, the limited number of qualified companies is a hindrance to obtaining public aid and subsidies and therefore a hindrance to renovation! Bruno Le Maire thus mentioned at the end of 2022 that the number of RGE-qualified companies should be quadrupled to increase from 60.000 to 250.000 by 2028, while for the moment the number of RGE craftsmen is not progressing! The account is not ready to be there if we do nothing. »