«Co-owners preferred to sell than renovate. Out of 40 co-owners, around 7 sold», Regrets Sophie, president of the union council of a building located in Tignes, a ski resort. His building was not insulated in the walls and roof, and was heated with oil. When Sophie wanted to undertake energy renovation work in her co-ownership, she found herself confronted with numerous obstacles and almost gave up several times. “You find yourself a little alone when you embark on such an endeavor.“, she confides. The number of energy renovation works undertaken in condominium buildings is relatively low. It represents only 1% of the files submitted to Anah (National Housing Agency), as part of the Ma Prime Rénov system, according to Primes energies.fr.
Sophie carried out this perilous enterprise 10 years ago now. The regulations regarding energy performance diagnostics, DPE, were not as restrictive as today. Currently, accommodation classified G+, i.e. a thermal sieve, can no longer be rented. From January 1, 2025, the rental ban will extend to class G housing. Co-owners were therefore even less motivated than today to launch work. The co-ownership worked little by little for its work, through a single gesture.
«I had requested an audit of our building. I thought that the co-owners in Tignes had a little more means than ordinary mortals. We could have imagined that when you pay 60 euros per day for a ski pass, you will have less difficulty changing your radiator», asserts the president of the union council. Sophie then tries to make the co-owners understand that the deteriorating building no longer has value and that a major renovation was necessary for the building to be of good quality. In order for the renovation project to be validated and to be able to begin the work, the vote of two thirds of the co-owners is necessary, which constitutes an obstacle to the renovation of energy-intensive housing in co-ownership.
Ten years of fighting
«It took two to three years to obtain approval from the other co-owners. The moment you try to make things happen, people think you're going to rip them off.. They opposed the fact that the co-ownership did not need that», she laments. One of the co-owners was particularly resistant to the renovation. He did not want to pay for the work and did not give craftsmen access to his accommodation. Sophie and other co-owners went so far as to take the matter to court and won.
Neighborhood relations have deteriorated. “I received some not very pleasant messages. If I did this work, it was to make money. Even from people who knew me well, whom I had hosted and taken skiing. There was constant suspicion. I was sometimes afraid to enter the hall because of certain», remembers Sophie, with bitterness. The forty-year-old therefore wiped off the cast. She was still supported in her approach by some members of the union council. Tenacious, she never gave up. “The co-ownership tool is a very inflexible tool today in France which leaves a lot of room for a few complainers while the majority of people want to move forward. There are approximately 1/3 of driving elements, 1/3 of followers and 1/3 of complainers», saddens the forty-year-old. And surprisingly, according to Sophie, it is not the co-owners with the most financial difficulties who vote against the work.
In addition to the stormy general meetings of co-owners where Sophie was the target of multiple invectives, the forty-year-old had to face many other problems: the craftsman who was renovating the facade of the building planted them, the scaffolding had to be reassembled three times, with the work only being able to be carried out from May to December. “Then, winter arrives and the work must wait until the following May to resume.», explains Sophie. In total, it took Sophie 10 years to obtain a like-new co-ownership, between the difficulties in getting the work approved, then the time to find a company, to wait for the next AGM… Now, the hassle is over for Sophie. The facades were insulated, the windows changed, the balconies, the roof and the railings redone, as were the common areas. The building was even raised. “As a result, real estate has had a huge boom in residential areas. The goods were estimated at 5,000 euros per meter 10 years ago, today they are estimated at 10,000 euros. Certainly, real estate prices have risen significantly, but the impact of renovation is significant. Buyers tell themselves that they are at peace, that they are buying in a building where everything is done», rejoices Sophie.
Almost no financial assistance
Christophe had less difficulty obtaining the support of the other co-owners. Owner of a studio that he rents in the center of Lille, he has pushed the cursor quite far since beyond changing the windows, the roof and the heating system and the insulation of the walls, the panels photovoltaics even had to be installed. “The European metropolis of Lille, through its project management assistance Amelio, has indicated that it will not pay no help from the public community and the State despite a strong desire of the co-owners to commit, apart from energy saving certificates, CEE . Subsidy: 0 euros from the metropolis», Regrets the sixty-year-old.
For Christophe, communities want visible operations and his co-ownership is not fragile enough. In addition, his building of 14 lots is small and the retiree thinks that larger and more fragile condominiums receive more help. As a result, the 2023 AGM resulted in a radical decision: only a single work station will be concerned, the collective replacement of joinery. The windows are 45 years old, so changing the joinery will already bring energy savings. So goodbye to photovoltaic panels and wall insulation and boiler replacement. For windows, CEE aid would represent around 4% of the price, or 4000 euros for the co-ownership. “For my studio with a window budget of 4,500 euros including tax, we are around 180 euros from CEE», calculates the sixty-year-old.
«Small homes are penalized. My 18 square meter studio has 8 square meters of additional glazing. I don't have enough living space compared to the glass surface“, he explains. Christophe, for his part, renovated the apartment he bought in 2018. He installed a heated floor and upgraded the accommodation from an F label to an E label. “The deadlines are getting closer. In 2034, I won't be able to rent it anymore if I don't do anything. Changing windows should solve the problem“, he declares, confidently.
Christophe has also owned a garage in another co-ownership of 37 apartments since 2011. “The new president of the union council turned the council against the decision obtained at the general meeting of co-ownership the year before and obtained the withdrawal of the project and the change of trustee. The planned global renovation never took place», Alarms the retiree. He deplores having lost 4 years, the time to change trustee in particular. The AGM which was to be held at the beginning of the summer did not take place and was postponed for several months. The oil boiler has been the same for 10 years and nothing is progressing. It's the status quo.
