Housing certification: benefits for professionals, residents and the quality of the building

QUALITEL has measured the benefits of the certification it delivers in the housing sector, for all stakeholders, professionals and individuals. To do this, the Association has conducted research and analysis unprecedented to date: 11.000 French people questioned, 1.000 housing units examined with a fine-tooth comb, studies carried out in partnership with survey and data specialists, such as as IPSOS, Homadata or Adequation.

The results show that certification by QUALITEL, chosen by a large number of players in France, is an important lever for improving the real quality of housing and thus the quality of life of residents.

On the financial side, it helps to reduce sales times for new programs and allows their owners to resell them for more than their non-certified equivalents.

All the data can be found in a dedicated documentation, available as of today: “The concrete benefits of housing certification”. Focus on the main lessons.

Housing certified by QUALITEL is 3 times more likely to be rated A (“very good quality”) in the measurement scale developed by the Association^[1]

The efforts made to achieve this level of superior quality are directly perceived by the inhabitants of certified housing, who give an overall satisfaction score of 7,8 / 10 to their housing (compared to 6,9 / 10 for the inhabitants of non-certified housing. ).

Certification: proven added value for quality of life

Studies have shown that certification acts on all dimensions of housing quality:

It increases the overall share of housing rated A (of "very good quality"), on each of the criteria,

And, by extension, the number of people very satisfied with their habitat.
Certification: an asset for meeting housing challenges

Guaranteeing housing adapted to the challenges of their time, certification plays an important role in the new major societal and environmental challenges:

Certified housing contributes to the energy transition:
- Energy consumption is lower there: 38% of certified dwellings less than 10 years old have energy consumption rated A - “Very good quality”, compared to 31% for non-certified less than 10 years old.
- Renewable energies are not left out: 14% of certified collective housing, built after 2015, are equipped with photovoltaic panels and 4% with thermal solar panels.^[2]
They make it easier for people with reduced mobility to stay at home. Certified dwellings are twice as likely to be "very well suited" to the elderly / disabled: 59% of those under 10 years of age are rated A on this aspect, against 33% for their non-certified equivalents.

Marketing and real estate value: what are the economic benefits of certification?

For housing professionals, faster sales times observed for new real estate programs. QUALITEL compared^[3] sales of new buildings in Lyon between 2004 and 2018. Result: 72% of certified programs were delivered with all apartments sold, against 61% for non-certified.
For owners, increased real estate value and confirmation of the concept of green value. Certified homes sell for more than their non-certified equivalents^[4] :
- From 3,5% for homes built between 1975 and 1995, to 9,5% for homes built between 2005 and 2013.
- HQE certified housing fetch a price that is 13% higher on resale.
- In the most "tense" and "dense" areas, the difference can reach up to 19%.

“Certification has always demonstrated the desire of housing players to change the lines in the face of major societal and environmental challenges. And it works, we see it through the results of these studies: certification effectively raises the quality of the entire French housing stock, with concrete benefits for professionals, residents and the community.
More than ever, this issue of quality must remain one of the main drivers of the sector, a fortiori in the difficult context of economic recovery that it will have to face in the weeks and months to come. The Covid-19 crisis has profoundly changed the relationship of the French to their housing: let's hear them, let's answer them ... "
-Bertrand Delcambre - President of the QUALITEL Association

All the data and results available in the file "The concrete benefits of housing certification" available here

[1] QUALITEL-IPSOS survey - 11 French people questioned, 000 homes screened, around a hundred criteria.
This made it possible to rate the real quality of French housing out of 10. These ratings (Qualimeter) are organized into 4 categories:

A - "Very good quality": score higher than 7,8 / 10
B - "Good quality": score between 7,1 / 10 and 7,8 / 10
C - "Fair quality": score between 6,3 / 10 and 7,1 / 10
D - "Poor quality": score between 3,2 / 10 and 6,3 / 10

[2] CERQUAL 2020 study on construction trends.

[3] Study conducted by ADEQUATION in 2019, for QUALITEL, on the basis of the real estate development observatory, compared to the basis of programs certified by CERQUAL in the Lyon Metropolis for programs delivered between 2004 and 2018.

[4] Study carried out by Homadata, in 2019, for QUALITEL, based on the cross-referencing of several sources of geolocated reference data, including the “Request for Property Values from the DGFIP” database, listing all the changes recorded in France since 2014 and the basis of operations certified by CERQUAL Qualitel Certification.