Energy performance diagnosis (EPD): it is urgent to restore confidence

The DHUP presented a roadmap for improving the quality of DPEs with 3 areas of work: the creation of a technical sheet which must be completed by property owners and administrators before the visit of the diagnostician; strengthening the skills of the latter with the organization of an awareness day; and finally a last axis relating to the tools of certification bodies. This action plan is unfortunately not enough because if the sector wishes to restore confidence, it must work on the concretization of a professional card as a real guarantee of skills and know-how of the diagnostician. This is the proposal of the CDI FNAIM.

For Yannick Ainouche, President of the Chamber of Diagnosticians (CDI) FNAIM: “The DHUP's proposals are a step in the right direction, it's a first step. But the problems, we know them. Without denying the professionalization of our sector for 20 years, there are still practices that we must eradicate today: low prices incompatible with standard quality, technicians who launch their activity simply with their certification in their pocket, training which look like cramming... Our profession must have the ambition to go further to break this infernal spiral which constantly degrades the image of diagnosis. It will take more than a day of awareness and a technical sheet that the owner will probably not have completed..." and specifies "finally the real question to be asked relates to the guarantee of the skills of the diagnosticians, that is how that our profession will distrust it. We owe ourselves more righteousness. »

A professional card D to exercise the profession of diagnostician

The real estate T card, also called real estate transaction card, allows professionals to exercise the activities of real estate intermediary. Obtaining this card is one of the various obligations defined by the Hoguet law n°70-9 of February 2, 1970.

Why not apply this model to the profession of real estate diagnostician? The sector needs to restore confidence. It is urgent, even vital, with the forthcoming advent of the energy audit, a lever for renovation, and for which the diagnosticians aspire to play an essential role.

Thus without this sesame, the diagnostician will not have the possibility of setting up his practice, nor of exercising, nor of insuring himself.

For Yannick Ainouche: “Let's get this straight, it's not a question of duplicating the current certification, but of providing a real guarantee of quality, a guarantee of competence, and let's not be afraid of the word, of our ethics as well. »

So that this professional card is not a pure gadget or a commercial label, it must be backed by an independent and impartial quality system. For example, an independent commission with a democratic functioning to ensure the issue and maintenance of cards.

Its obtaining would be conditioned by prerequisites, by a minimum of experience, two years for example as an employee, or six months of internship for a new entrant. That anyone has real field experience and really knows the diagnostic ecosystem before opening their own practice.

The CDI FNAIM also wishes to include in this project the payment of the services of diagnosticians for sale, that is to say at the notary, as for real estate agents, with a tariff base which would be a percentage on the sale price. Diagnosticians will no longer have to manage long processes for collecting their invoices, which are legion in this profession.

For Yannick Ainouche: “Yes, I am aware of what this implies, but perhaps it is time to look beyond small personal interests and think about what we want to do with our sector in the general interest. In turn, this professional card will also lead to looking at the certification system or training. To establish the credibility of this card, we must also have a disciplinary council. In the event of proven serious misconduct, we must not be afraid to deprive a firm of its ability to practice, by suspending it or striking it off. This could, for example, dissuade certain firms from still employing technicians without certification. Let's face it, we know that these practices, even if they are marginal, persist. »

So to summarize, map D would be:

• The guarantee of know-how, with minimal training
• A guarantee for the consumer with a sign of quality recognized and common to the entire profession
• A disciplinary council to avoid excesses
• A floor price to put an end to low-cost diagnostics
• A settlement with the notary at the time of the sale (if the customer has still not paid) to avoid unpaid bills that plague the profession

How?

The CDI FNAIM will soon launch a participatory platform open to all diagnosticians. The objective is simple: collectively carry out a democratic reflection with a call for contributions in order to build the contours of map D and its implications.

Reminder of the proposals made by the CDI FNAIM

• Supervision of DPE tariffs with the establishment of a floor price below which the DPE could not be sold in order to avoid price cuts which inevitably lead to a deterioration in quality.
• A certification system more adapted to the sector for small and large companies: that diagnostic entrepreneurs now have the choice between company certification and personal certification.
• The creation of a real professional branch, with the creation of a "D" card issued by an independent authority