we explain to you how to anticipate the ban on housing classified F

Since January 1, 2025, G-rated housing, considered to be an energy sieve, has been prohibited for rental. Continuing on, owners of category F housing must also do what is necessary to ensure that their property is upgraded to at least category E by 2028. Professionals take stock.

In the windows of real estate agencies, the colorful arrows juxtaposed with rental offers cannot go unnoticed. A, B, C, D… This energy performance diagnosis (DPE) gives information on the energy consumption of a home and its impact on the climate. Until now, this scale of values ​​symbolized by red or green arrows could go down to the letter G, the lowest energy class which corresponds to thermal strainers.

But since January 1, 2025, DPE G has been prohibited for rental, therefore disappearing from real estate agencies. A measure taken by the Climate and Resilience Law of 2021, which gave owners time to prepare the transition to less energy-intensive housing.

“For 3 years, we have been working with landlords so that they carry out work and that they do not end up on D-day with a property that can no longer be rented.é”, comments Thierry Fourcault, real estate agency manager, before adding: “Even if in Haute-Saône we are not hugely impacted by this ban because 50% of housing classified G is located in Île-de-France.”

In mainland France, less than 6% of the real estate stock is covered by this measure, which concerns around 1.5 million rental properties. As an indication, a house of 100 m² in category G can lead to a heating bill of more than 2250 euros.

According to Thierry Fourcault, the G classification, however, remains extremely rare and mainly concerns properties built before the 1974 oil crisis or properties which have not been maintained, where no work has been carried out to contribute to the energy effort.

Today, a low DPE is between 15 and 20% less on the sale price. So it could be interesting for first-time buyers or investors to carry out work.

Thierry Fourcault, real estate agency manager

But then, what allows you to know if your property is on track? To do this, a real estate assessor must go to the accommodation in question and carry out several checks. Jérôme Payet, himself a diagnostician, explains how to proceed during these interventions: “When we carry out a DPE we will check the exterior envelope of the property, checking the type of wall, the type of insulation found, the ceilings, the floor, the windows (double glazing, aluminum, PVC, etc.) , and above all we will check all the heating and hot water systems.“All that remains is to enter all the information on their tablet, into the software validated by ADEME, which will provide the classification of the property.

Most of the time, Jérémy is faced with DPE of type C, D or E. Older properties generally do not exceed F. A problem, since after classification G, it will be the turn of housing in category F d be prohibited for rental. But don't panic, it's not for now: the measure provided for by the Climate Law plans to apply this ban in 2028.

Until then, several actions can be put in place to improve your DPE. “If this can reassure the owners, at a lower cost we can win a letter“, assures Thierry Fourcault. “We insulate the attic, we redo the insulation from the inside of the coldest walls, we change an electric tank…“Relatively inexpensive small jobs which are enough to be able to rent your accommodation, while ensuring that you respect the well-being of your tenants.

With Frédéric Buridant