The Senate strengthens the housing component of the climate bill

"We are significantly enhancing the ambition for energy renovation," assured rapporteur Dominique Estrosi Sassone (LR).

France has set itself the objective of a building stock at low consumption building level (BBC) by 2050.

"The challenge is considerable," said Ms. Estrosi Sassone. "Out of 29 million main residences, only 1,9 million are classified A or B according to the energy performance diagnosis (DPE)".

The senators have retained these two classes as the definition of an "efficient" renovation, qualifying class C as "moderately efficient".

This is one of the points of "divergence" raised by the Minister of Housing Emmanuelle Wargon, who recalled that the government was targeting "an A, B or C label by 2050".

With the climate bill, the government is firstly organizing the hunt for "thermal strainers", these energy-intensive homes classified F and G. France has around 4,8 million, according to the Ministry of Ecological Transition, of which a third are occupied by low-income owners.

The bill provides in the first place to prohibit, at the time of the renewal of a lease or the re-rental, to increase their rent. The senators propose to bring forward by one year the entry into force of this ban, that is to say from the promulgation of the law.

In 2025 for class G then in 2028 for class F, this accommodation will then be banned for rental.

For class E, which deputies have planned to ban for rental in 2034, senators have pushed back the ax to 2040, a deadline deemed "more realistic", but denounced as "a setback" by environmentalists.

In any case, it responds to the concern expressed by real estate professionals. "Banning the rental of E housing, which alone represents a quarter of the housing stock currently rented, in an unrealistic horizon, amounts to endangering the medium-term housing conditions of nearly 5 million French people", they said. warned.

"Much too far"

On the other hand, the senators integrated the class D in the calendar of prohibition to rent indecent housing, from 2048. "It's still in 27 years", noted the ecologist Daniel Salmon, for whom "it" is really far too far ".

"We trace a trajectory, we give visibility including to the building industry", underlined the rapporteur.

At the same time, the senators have expanded the accompanying measures.

For the most modest households, they have thus guaranteed "a minimal remainder of the charge" and asked for "the free admission of the guides of the Sichel mission".

To help social landlords, VAT on home renovation work (energy savings, accessibility and safety) would be lowered to 5,5%.

Finally, several measures target the owners of rental housing. "We can not only be on the stick, there must also be a carrot," explains Dominique Estrosi Sassone.

The following are therefore proposed: the doubling of the ceiling of the land deficit from a significant amount of work, the extension for F and G housing of the "Denormandie" tax assistance system or an exception to the rent control from then on that the thermal strainers are the subject of an efficient renovation.

The senatorial right has finally introduced for donors "leave for energy renovation work", when they are important and can not be done in occupied housing, a measure that worries the left. Ms. Wargon also saw "a real risk of misappropriation of such a leave when the lessor wishes to vacate the accommodation".

The deputies will be able to reconsider the modifications made by the Senate at first reading in the continuation of the parliamentary shuttle.