Real estate / DPE: How to make this diagnosis reliable and avoid deviations?

Professionals in the sector, buyers, sellers, lessors and even tenants... all seem to point the finger at the reliability of the DPE, even though the issues linked to this diagnosis are important.

An initiative aimed at improving the energy consumption of French households

Created in 2006, the DPE's initial objective was to help French households better control their energy consumption. And this, by directly taking into consideration the ecological impact that their consumption could generate, whether gas or electricity.

In 2021, for the third time, the DPE underwent significant changes, including the establishment of a single calculation method for residential housing, based on the so-called 3CL method “Calculation of Conventional Consumption housing ".

This method seems (on paper) to be much more reliable than the one that could sometimes be used: the so-called “on invoice” method. Indeed, the 3CL method takes into account many more parameters and details such as the ambient temperature of the building, the daily occupancy, the surface area of ​​the internal and external walls, the thickness of the glazing, the age and efficiency. heating and domestic hot water systems as well as the presence of self-production equipment (photovoltaic solar panels).

The DPE today corresponds to a real energy assessment of the home which makes it possible to detect certain defects which could lead to heat loss and excess energy consumption.

The hunt for thermal strainers

As part of the Climate and Resilience Law, the government wants to eliminate thermal sieves, that is to say for housing obtaining an energy class F or G, following a DPE. This, in order to meet the decarbonization objectives of the French real estate stock set for 2050. This law stipulates that housing which displays a final energy consumption greater than 450 kWh (kilowatt hour) per square meter of living space and per year, are no longer eligible for rental since January 1, 2023. To date, this only concerns new rental contracts. But this is a measure which will be reinforced in stages by January 2025, then 2028, then 2034.

Beyond such restrictions, we can see that this rating system associated with the DPE has a significant impact on the real estate market. Which then suggests several professional excesses.

DPE: in the sights of consumer associations

Whether it is consumer associations such as UFC-Que Choisir, 60 million consumers or certain media or even the Hello Watt web platform... everyone has taken up the subject!

Studies and reports showing that for the same house, several diagnosticians do not achieve the same result, and that the labels assigned display discrepancies of up to 3 letters in the energy classification!

Reports then showing real estate diagnosticians, lacking ethics and professional conduct, who did not hesitate to provide inconsistent measurements, or even to modify data in order to be able to offer a more advantageous energy class to owners!

DPE: in the sights of consumer associations

Whether it is consumer associations such as UFC-Que Choisir, 60 million consumers or certain media or even the Hello Watt web platform... everyone has taken up the subject!

Studies and reports showing that for the same house, several diagnosticians do not achieve the same result, and that the labels assigned display discrepancies of up to 3 letters in the energy classification!

Reports then showing real estate diagnosticians, lacking ethics and professional conduct, who did not hesitate to provide inconsistent measurements, or even to modify data in order to be able to offer a more advantageous energy class to owners!

Professionals also testifying to pricing practices that are very disparate from each other.

Practices denounced by the FED Experts Federation which does not hesitate to raise awareness among the media, elected officials and representatives of the sector, by proposing several avenues aimed at putting an end to its abuses:

• The introduction of regulated prices
• Strengthening identity checks for real estate diagnosticians
• The obligation to travel and justify the time spent on site
• On-site inspection rather than documentary inspection
• The establishment of administrative and financial sanctions for fraudsters

From a legal perspective, let us remember that the DPE is today enforceable and that the diagnostician incurs heavy sanctions in the event of obstruction of the law, in particular on endangering the occupants of real estate.

FED Experts: a free and independent Federation wishing to legitimize real estate diagnosis

Created in 2021, the FED Experts Federation is a modern and inclusive organization bringing together natural and legal persons wishing to make their profession more reliable and develop in line with the regulatory developments desired by public authorities.

This is why the FED EXPERTS Federation openly deplores several types of fraud and campaigns for the reliability of the diagnostic and energy efficiency sector in 3 areas: skills, the fight against fraud, calculation and development tools of reports.

In a context where doubts are growing over the maintenance of the proposed timetables for energy renovation of the French real estate portfolio, and over the reliability of the DPE, fraud is becoming preponderant!

This is why the Department of Housing, Urban Planning and Landscapes (DHUP), within the Ministry of Ecological and Inclusive Transition, has proposed strengthening training and certification conditions.

But would this be enough to put an end to the fraud observed on the market?

The FED Experts Federation is not convinced of this and therefore proposes the establishment of a certified card with an associated QR code so that diagnosticians are identified and can present during their intervention the validity of their certification and be able to be physically identified.

Not to be confused with the establishment of a professional card “La carte D” as proposed by the Chamber of Real Estate Diagnosticians of the FNAIM. Because what the CDI-FNAIM offers is more akin to a company certification, like real estate agents and their T card. A card that could be misused to send untrained operators and technicians into the field or not certified. Moreover, this system was rejected by the public authorities in 2006 before the implementation of the certifications of people in force, they having become aware of the potential deviation.

At the same time, the FED Experts Federation also asks public authorities to adjust the method of calculating the DPE which penalizes small areas, thanks to a modulation coefficient. And to take advantage of this change to promote the small works that can be implemented: airtightness, home automation, LED lighting, etc.

Old buildings must also be the subject of a personalized study, certainly with an “on invoice” method because the 3CL method is not suitable for this typology of buildings.

It is in this context, with the aim of facilitating the energy transition and making it accessible and understandable to all, while making the sector more reliable and avoiding abuses, that the FED Experts Federation has created a web broadcast entitled "LE GRAND DEBRIEF OF THE ENERGY TRANSITION". The first program dedicated to the energy transition which brings the words of professionals to elected officials who introduce regulatory measures: deputies, senators, presidents of federations...

FED Experts is a federation open to all: independents, single-member companies, SMEs, ETIs, large accounts, whatever the sector of activity linked to real estate diagnosis, energy efficiency, building control. Which makes it one of a kind!

Tribune by Hassad Mouheb, CEO at Wedge International School and President of the Fed Experts federation (LinkedIn).