Victim of its success, MaPrimeRénov' will undergo new changes

The number of homes renovated with MaPrimeRénov' subsidies tripled at the start of the year, while the State's budget for 2025 had been reduced in the Finance Act to align with the amounts consumed in 2024.

"Given the rise in housing renovation, which is not surprising, it was certain that there would be a problem," notes Manuel Domergue, director of studies at the Housing Foundation (formerly the Abbé Pierre Foundation).

The problem is now concrete: seven local authorities in the Grand Est region have written to the ministry to warn that their MaPrimeRénov' budget envelope has been exhausted.

The Ardèche department is facing the same funding shortage, as is the Lyon metropolitan area and many other areas responsible for distributing aid to low-income and very low-income households for the comprehensive renovation of their homes.

The National Housing Agency (ANAH) indicated last week that more than 100.000 renovation projects (by gesture and comprehensive renovation) have been initiated since the beginning of the year, against a target set by the State of 350.000 energy renovations, including 100.000 comprehensive renovations.

A budget of 3,6 billion euros has been allocated to Anah for MaPrimeRénov' and the government does not plan to supplement it, nor to process applications beyond the set target.

The consequence of this lack of public funding is that MaPrimeRénov' could be suspended from July until at least the end of the year, according to an article in Le Parisien published Tuesday.

A member of the Anah board of directors and another close source told AFP that closing the office is a possibility being discussed. "Nothing has been decided," the Ministry of Housing stated, denying that the MaPrimeRénov' budget could be depleted prematurely.

This would mean, if necessary, that no more grant applications could be submitted from July onwards. "An absolute catastrophe," according to Jacques Baudrier, PCF deputy mayor of Paris in charge of housing.

"The environmental transition in construction requires public money, otherwise it will not happen," warns Manuel Domergue.

On the government side, the Anah "does not comment on the rumors" and the government indicates that it is preparing "announcements during June to better manage the influx of applications and detect fraudsters upstream."

The "strong momentum in large-scale renovation is good news" and "the processing and payment of applications are continuing normally," the government insists, without mentioning the lack of public funds.

"Arbitrations for 2026" are also promised for July.

The industry is worried

Energy renovation companies are also worried: "If MaPrimeRénov' is halted, it will be brutal," fears Jean-Christophe Repon, president of the building trades union, Capeb.

"Behind this possible freeze on aid, thousands of customers are being left behind and thousands of jobs in the sector could be permanently threatened," said Philippe Notargiacomo, president of the renovation company HomeServe Energies Services.

For Suzanne Brolly, Vice-President of the Eurometropolis of Strasbourg, "it's a whole balance that is collapsing and which was already very fragile."

The government has already begun seeking financial solutions to increase MaPrimeRénov' without further increasing the public deficit. It plans to amend the rules governing energy savings certificates (CEE) to encourage companies to finance major renovations.

However, there is a "time lag" of several months between the award of a CEE and the payment of funds by the company, so the effects of the potential new CEE rules will be seen "rather in 2026," explains Damien Demailly, deputy director of the research institute specializing in climate economics I4CE.

"The state is cleaning up the CEEs to make room" so that they can replace budgetary credits, he estimates, in a context of the government's search for 40 billion euros in savings by 2026.

Illustrative image of the article via Depositphotos.com.