January 2028: The DPE time bomb

Since January 1, 2025, properties rated G have been prohibited from being rented. Behind this seemingly technical decision lies a harsh reality: a potential depreciation of up to 20% on the sale price and nearly 1,5 million properties directly impacted. Some owners have been forced to sell urgently, others to undertake costly renovations without a clear outlook, and many have simply had to endure a regulation imposed without adequate support.

Faced with the risk of a rental shortage, the State finally adjusted the DPE calculation method to allow some housing to return to category F. But these adjustments came too late: those who had anticipated paid a heavy price, while the rules evolved along the way.

This scenario could repeat itself, on a much larger scale, in January 2028, when properties rated F will in turn be banned from rental. This time, it's not 1,5 million, but 4 to 5 million homes that are affected. Are we really going to accept such a massive withdrawal from the rental stock? Or will we, as with G-rated properties, be forced to urgently correct the course?

The Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) is not an isolated measure. It is part of an increasingly constrained real estate environment: rent control, tax instability, a proliferation of standards, and legal complexity. By legislating without a comprehensive vision or the operational capacity for large-scale renovation, we are permanently weakening the housing market.

The experience of G-type housing is enlightening: when economic reality catches up with the law, adjustments are made. But always too late, and too often to the detriment of both owners and tenants.

There is still time to change course. Rather than prohibiting, we must provide support. Rather than penalizing, we must incentivize. This requires a realistic timeline, genuinely accessible aid, and a renovation policy that is consistent with market capacity.

Because the issue is no longer just ecological: it has become social, economic, and political. It concerns our collective ability to provide decent housing for the French people.

Otherwise, January 2028 will not just be a regulatory deadline: it will be the moment when an avoidable housing crisis will have been organized by law.

Opinion piece by Nicolas Jeff, Real Estate Agent (LinkedIn).