Energy renovation of co-ownerships: a path strewn with pitfalls

Energy renovation of buildings is a crucial issue of our time, and co-ownerships represent considerable potential for improvement. However, implementation remains slow, hampered by daunting administrative and technical complexity.

The typical path for an energy renovation project in a small or medium-sized condominium is often long and winding, even when everything goes smoothly. It takes an average of 46 months, or nearly four years, to complete such a project, from the initial energy study to the acceptance of the work and the release of financial aid.

Several critical steps mark this process, with risks of getting bogged down at each stage. Lack of coordination between stakeholders is a recurring problem: the design office, the project manager, the project management assistant (PMA), and the construction companies struggle to coordinate their actions, leading to delays and additional costs. A failure to anticipate technical and financial constraints is also common: preliminary studies are often incomplete, leading to surprises and adjustments during construction. Construction companies, insufficiently involved upstream, can also raise cost or feasibility issues.

Administrative and financial complexity is another major obstacle: grant application procedures are cumbersome and payment times are long. The risk of failure to comply with administrative and technical requirements can lead to aid being blocked, leaving co-owners helpless.

These practical difficulties are compounded by fundamental obstacles linked to the very nature of co-ownership. It is often difficult to mobilize a majority of co-owners around an energy renovation project. Divergent interests and cost concerns can be a major obstacle to collective engagement. The sometimes insufficient role of property managers is also highlighted: property managers, who manage most co-ownerships, sometimes lack the skills or time to effectively support energy renovation projects. The inadequacy of support mechanisms constitutes another obstacle: public aid is often directed towards large co-ownerships with collective heating, leaving aside a significant portion of the housing stock.

Overcoming these obstacles requires action on several levels. It is imperative to simplify procedures: reduce processing times for grant applications, harmonize administrative and technical requirements, and establish a single point of contact for each project. It is also essential to strengthen support for co-owners and develop tools to help property managers successfully complete their energy renovation projects, and encourage the use of competent and independent project management assistance (AMOs).

Furthermore, it is crucial to adapt public aid: better target aid according to the specific characteristics of co-ownerships, taking into account their size, their geographical location and their needs.

The energy renovation of co-ownerships is a huge undertaking, but it is essential to achieving our climate objectives and improving the comfort and purchasing power of the French population. It is time to remove the obstacles hindering its development and implement a more ambitious policy better suited to the realities on the ground.

Tribune by Philippe Benquet, President of Acorus (LinkedIn).