Selling an energy-consuming home to avoid renovation work

In the third quarter of 2024, 13% of sales of old homes were energy-intensive dwellings, classified F or G in the energy performance diagnosis, report the Notaries of France in their annual report.

In 2022, "a sharp annual increase" in sales of energy sieves followed the publication in mid-2021 of a decree on the gradual ban on renting out energy-intensive housing, and the share of F or G labels reached 16% of transactions, then 17% in 2023, according to notaries.

For three decades, the State has encouraged investment in rental properties through various tax measures, but the beneficiaries of these measures "are not rich" and do not all have the means to finance work, according to Zahir Keeno, president of Foncia Administrateur de biens, leader in rental management in France.

However, a quarter of households account for two-thirds of privately owned housing in France according to 2021 data from INSEE. And among the 10% of the richest French people, 51% declare rental income to the Public Treasury.

A significant proportion of landlords are elderly: "23% of owners of F or G rated housing are over 80 years old", estimates Loïc Cantin, president of the National Real Estate Federation (Fnaim), who warns that they "are not going to undertake major renovation work".

People over 60 are over-represented among sales of old energy-intensive homes and among buyers of A and B rated homes, the least energy-intensive, according to the Higher Council of Notaries (CSN), which makes the link between selling an energy sieve to avoid carrying out work and buying back a more energy-efficient home with the money from the previous sale.

For major renovation work, the remaining cost for the owner, after deduction of state subsidies, is on average 20.000 euros. "You'd better have a hell of a rental yield" to cover this cost, mocks Elodie Frémont, a notary in Paris, recalling that in several large cities, rents are regulated.

According to a survey by the BPCE banking group, 31% of the 2.050 people surveyed are considering energy renovation work within 5 years, and among them, only 6% are owners of rental properties.

According to the same study, energy label F or G is a reason for sale for 43% of those who plan to sell their home.

On the market, housing classified F or G is subject to a discount: -15% on average for an apartment in the Grand Est and -25% for a house in Nouvelle Aquitaine for example.

"The context of a drop in the number of transactions and a contraction in prices will reinforce the importance of the DPE label, which has an ever-increasing impact on the price of the property," stressed Frédéric Violeau, responsible for national real estate statistics for the CSN.

Illustrative image of the article via Depositphotos.com.