The Minister of Housing wants to promote renovations against heat waves

"I think what needs to change is to integrate this problem of heat waves into the adaptation of housing," said the minister on France Inter.

Summer comfort is still very little taken into account in housing regulations.

The only binding standards concern new constructions authorized since January 2022.

In France, MaPrimeRénov', the government's flagship energy renovation aid scheme, only finances work aimed at further protecting housing against the cold.

In some overseas communities, on the other hand, the installation of overroofs or ventilated cladding, or solar water heaters, can be supported.

"If we widened these devices? If we relied on the experience of overseas to generalize it to the metropolis? I am rather in favor of that," said the minister.

Heat waves like the one that France is currently going through, with another 17 departments placed on red alert on Thursday, will multiply and intensify with global warming.

To relaunch new construction, in crisis for several months, Patrice Vergriete said "to work on a device that will mobilize professional investors on rental investment".

Promoters and builders are worried about the announced abolition of the Pinel tax niche and the refocusing of the zero-rate loan, which favored private investment in real estate.

"The private investor, when he invests in housing, he first seeks the tax advantage, and he does not necessarily look at the quality of the housing and where it is located", justified Patrice Vergriete, judging that helping professional investors would be "more sustainable".

He also announced a decree for mid-September "which will allow more municipalities, tourist municipalities, municipalities today which are in reindustrialization, to be able to develop more intermediate housing", with regulated rents but higher than in HLM .

Groupement Actibaie welcomes the government's proposal

In an interview with France Inter this morning, the Minister Delegate for Housing Patrice Vergriete suggests taking summer comfort into account in housing regulations. "I think what needs to change is to integrate this heat wave issue into the adaptation of housing," he said. He continues by proposing to expand the MaPrimeRénov' system by taking inspiration from what is being done in the DROMs. It would be a question of integrating in this assistance device, the gestures of renovation related to the comfort of summer, device which today finances only works aiming at protecting housing against the cold.

Groupement Actibaie, a building trade union affiliated with the FFB, congratulates the Minister for this strong decision, which is in line with his proposals and those put forward by the Abbé Pierre Foundation.

For Hervé Lamy, general delegate at Groupement Actibaie: “The government has clearly understood the urgency of dealing with the intensification of heat waves, such as the one currently hitting France. This is a first step in the right direction. If the experience feedback is good, it will also have to be extended to other mechanisms such as Energy Saving Certificates and reduced VAT. We are nevertheless waiting to see the outlines of the system, namely the budget that will be allocated to this aid and the renovation actions that will be integrated into MaPrimeRénov'. In fact, blinds and shutters remain the concealment products that most effectively reduce the interior temperature in buildings during the summer period. Depending on the type of solar protection used, it is possible to reduce the indoor temperature by 2°C to 5°C, regardless of the geographical area. The integration of solar protection and other measures in MaPrimeRénov', beyond the financial question, will give more visibility to these solutions. »

Indeed, in a recent study by Ifop for Groupement Actibaie, 22% of households said they were not sufficiently informed and did not know what to do to improve the thermal performance of their home.

For Hervé Lamy: “We hope that all solutions will be considered to effectively protect French people from the heat and thus limit the increasing use of air conditioning. »