Demonstration in front of Anah to protest against MaPrimeRénov' payment delays

Energy renovation workers and craftspeople, along with individuals, demonstrated on Monday, May 12, in front of the National Housing Agency (ANAH) to protest against MaPrimeRénov' (energy renovation assistance) payment deadlines deemed too long and which have given rise to thousands of disputes.

This gathering of around twenty people was initiated by Thierry Flak, head of an energy renovation company in the Paris region, which finds itself in a "very problematic" situation due to these delays.

Energy renovations represent 60% of its business, and for many projects, the company directly receives the MaPrimeRénov' grant requested by its clients, allowing them to pay less upfront. His company, Home Expert Habitat, is awaiting "around €800.000" in subsidies, the CEO said, warning of the risk of bankruptcy for hundreds of companies that are also experiencing cash flow problems.

"The processing times for applications are excessively long," confirms Hugues Sartre, founder of a renovation company and spokesperson for a group of around ten companies in the sector called GERE.

According to him, between the request for assistance based on a quote and the acceptance of the application, "between 6 and 8 months pass," "then we do the work, we pay the teams, the suppliers." Then, between the request for assistance payment and the payment of funds, he estimates the delay at "272 days on average" among GERE members.

Anah disputes these figures, indicating in a press release published Monday that the "average payment period for files after major renovation work" is 35 days, while the processing of files before work would take 105 days on average.

The public institution adds that "these delays can be significantly longer for companies subject to increased controls," a procedure which is becoming increasingly common given the explosion in attempted fraud.

If a certification body fails to physically verify that work has been carried out, or if the client fails to respond to a final "request for consent" from Anah, the promised aid may even be withdrawn.

Lawyer Joyce Pitcher has handled nearly 2.600 cases in which an individual or their agent company is contesting the withdrawal of MaPrimeRénov' aid or excessively long payment deadlines.

The Anah specifies that for 98% of the decisions contested, the judgments rendered were favorable to it.

Illustrative image of the article via Depositphotos.com.