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Lina Tran
Published on
Jul 1, 2024 at 10:00 a.m.
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The observation is clear on the rental market : demand is greater than supply. This situation is valid throughout France, and Bernay (Eure) is no exception.
According to the National Real Estate Federation, in a report published in January 2024, the rental offer has fallen by 59% in 5 years. And this situation “naturally” (it is the market law of supply and demand) induces an increase in the price of rents while incomes do not increase.
We are not at the level of the big cities, but rents have undeniably increased. Here, they are not regulated, so landlords can also do what they want.
For the latter, the balance of power was completely different six years ago where “the tenant could even negotiate the rent”.
An increase in precariousness
Like everywhere in France, inflation has been there. For his colleague Antoine Corbel, director of the Orpi real estate agency in Bernay, the increase in single-parent families contributes, among other things, to this increase in demand.
They will look for accommodation of the same size “but with only one income “. Precarious situations that some owners do not want to take into account (or cannot).
Today, an owner has a choice. He can choose the file that best suits him, according to his criteria.
Faced with the lack of social housing in the Bernay region, this creates, for the two agents, a category of people unable to find accommodation.
“Some owners are also taking advantage of this situation to rent properties that are close to unsanitary conditions “, describe the two real estate agents. They know that homes rejected by their agencies end up on private sales or rental sites, thus circumventing the rules.
Owners facing regulations
For the two agency managers, the lack of available housing is also to be attributed to rental regulations. The owner must in particular provide an energy performance diagnosis (rated from A to G), the famous DPE, evaluating the energy consumption and the impact in terms of greenhouse gas emissions of its property.
“Some accommodations are poorly classified, but are in good condition », notes Antoine Corbel. There is a lot of financial aid available for work. “The landlord can pass them on to the rent. And in some cases, the work does not change the DPE grade. »
The energy performance diagnosis
An essential document for any owner, the energy performance diagnosis or DPE provides information on the energy consumption of a home, by assigning a rating from A to G.
This document has existed since 2006, but it was only in July 2021 with the law on the Evolution of housing, development and digital technology (Elan) that its status changed: it became mandatory and must be provided in case of sale or rental. This obligation is part of the obligation for an owner to provide so-called decent housing and to fight against substandard housing and thermal sieves.
The State has set several deadlines to give owners time to carry out a diagnosis and the necessary work. Thus, from January 1, 2025, only apartments or houses classified at least F are authorized; then E from January 1, 2028 and D from January 1, 2034. Note that since 2022, F and G housing has had a rent freeze.
Opinions are divided on the DPE. On the tenant’s side, it protects them from potentially unsanitary housing. The ban on renting certain housing has impacted the supply on the market, because not all owners want to carry out work. Criticism has been expressed about the method of calculating energy consumption not adapted to certain housing, particularly the smallest. Housing legislation is regularly updated to adapt to realities. The latest: on February 12, 2024, the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion announced the consultation of a draft decree aimed at making the DPE thresholds fairer for small housing. This reform will guarantee a fairer assessment of their energy performance. It will come into force on July 1, 2024 and will impact 11% of the metropolitan housing stock.
What about property tax?
On the other hand, access to property is no longer as easy:
Renting is a transitional stage in life. We stay there for one or two years, before buying. Today, interest rates do not encourage investment, so we will stay longer in rental accommodation, which means fewer homes on the market.
Does the increase in property tax by the current municipality in 2022 play a role in the purchase of a property? Undeniably for both professionals. Among the buyers, we find young owners, Parisians looking for a main or secondary residence, but also real estate investors.
“Today, a future buyer will look at two criteria: property tax and energy consumption “, says Benjamin Plessis. It is impossible to attribute this slowdown in purchasing solely to the tax set by the municipality. Other criteria come into play, in particular the price of goods for sale. It should return to pre-Covid levels, which is not yet the case.
“Some owners have a hard time hearing that prices have changed. We are no longer at the same level after Covid,” says Antoine Corbel. “It was an exceptional period. I think it’s something we won’t see again,” describes the agency manager Stéphane Plaza.
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