On January 31, Christophe Bchu, Minister of Ecological Transition, announced a change in the calculation method for the energy performance diagnosis (DPE). Expected for February 15, this modification could benefit a certain type of housing.
Many owners are involved in the energy performance diagnosis (EPD), which is mandatory for renting their accommodation. It must be said that the DPE has a strong impact on landlords. On January 1, 2025, those who own class G housing will no longer be able to rent their accommodation without first carrying out extensive energy renovation work. And owners of properties classified F and E will also be affected by the rental ban, in 2028 and 2034 respectively.
But for several weeks, certain voices have been raised to demand a revision of the method of calculating the DPE, accused of putting small areas at a disadvantage. Thus, according to figures from the National Energy Renovation Observatory (ONRE), more than 31% of apartments of less than 30 square meters are classified F or G, compared to less than 16% for the entire housing stock.
Two points to review on the copy of the DPE?
As explained the PAP.fr website, two points penalize this type of housing. First of all, the accounting for domestic hot water, because taking into account the size of the tank in relation to the surface area of the home and the average number of occupants penalizes small areas.
The same goes for the thermal compactness index, that is to say the result of the sum of the lossy surfaces (the surfaces relating to the exterior or to unheated premises) divided by the surface area of the dwelling. However, heat-losing surfaces such as walls are proportionally greater for a small area, which pulls the index downwards as does the DPE result.
DPE: good news coming for owners of small areas?
In this context, the Minister of Ecological Transition Christophe Bchu ensured at the end of January a review of the calculation in the coming weeks. In mid-February, I will announce a simplification of the DPE which will allow us to maintain the ambition of the initial timetable while making the device more reliable for small areas and by implementing flexibility measures which will allow owners and tenants to approach the date of January 1, 2025 with more confidence, declared the minister without further details.
The new method of calculation should therefore allow a certain number of small class G dwellings to escape the rental ban in 2025 by gaining one class compared to their current rating.