Changes are about to come in again for the diagnostic de performance énergétique (DPE), ensuring homes heated by electricity are no longer penalised.
Starting from January 2026, a co-efficient for electricity use of 1.9 will be used to calculate a property’s energy rating, instead of 2.3, which has been in place since 2021.
This means that the government considers you need 1.9kWh of base electricity to provide 1kWh of heating by electricity in a home.
“This reform seeks to correct unfair treatment that penalised our French electricity, which is highly decarbonised due to the use of nuclear power and renewable energy,” said a statement from the Ministry for Ecological Transition.
It added that the move would make replacing oil or gas central heating boilers with electric heat pump systems more attractive.
The prime minister’s office claimed that 850,000 homes, presently scoring the lowest F or G ratings, will now move to a higher rating.
Some housing experts have cast doubt on this figure, insisting their calculations show far fewer properties will be affected.
One of the main estate agent trade bodies, the Fédération Nationale de l'Immobilier, has welcomed the reform.
“It is a move towards energy justice and ecological coherence,” said its president, Loïc Cantin.
Not everyone is happy with the change
The Fondation pour le Logement des défavorisés (formerly the Fondation Abbé-Pierre), which works to improve housing for disadvantaged people, deplored the fact that many flats would probably not now be renovated.
The gas industry body Coénove also denounced the measure as “political meddling with a scientific tool to try and hide the slow pace of renovation, which is not meeting targets”.
The builders’ trade body Capeb warned the reform will make it harder for its members to find work.
Energy consultants Casam ran simulations, which found the biggest winners from the new measures will be very small flats (less than 15m² of living space), presently rated as F, which will move to an E classification.
Houses rated E that are heated by wood stoves with electricity as a complementary source and to heat hot water, will move to a D.
It means they will no longer be required to have a detailed audit énergétique when they are put on the market, which some estate agents blame for putting off potential buyers.
Houses that already have an electric heat pump and a B rating, will now move to an A.
DPE certificates, rated from A (most efficient) to G, assess a property’s energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.
When initially introduced in 2006, they were based on the previous year’s energy bills.
However, concerns over accuracy and suspected fraud led the government to adopt a new calculation method in 2021.
The current system, based on building regulations in place since 1948, involves inspectors completing computerised forms, listing factors such as the types of heating, amount of insulation in the roof and on walls, and whether windows are double-glazed.
However, the software fails to account for some features common in older homes, such as thick stone walls and traditional insulating materials including mud, lime and straw.
As a result, many rural homeowners feel their properties are unfairly given low ratings.
Buyers are placing growing importance on these scores, with homes rated F or G – often called passoires thermiques (‘heat sieves’) – viewed as costly to heat and environmentally unfriendly (see box).
Since January 2025, properties with a DPE rating of G have been banned from being newly rented, or having existing tenancy agreements extended.
The same will apply to F-rated properties from 2028.
Price difference
There is a sharp difference in price for urban properties with a good DPE rating compared to those with poor ones, a recent study has shown.
The report, by renovation specialist Ithaque, was based on data gathered by notaires in 2024.
It looked at sales figures for houses with a living space of 150m², and found that in Bordeaux, the city with the biggest difference, the average price for a house with an A or B rating was €755,800.
In comparison, the average price for a house with a F or G rating was €501,637 – a difference of €254,163.
Eight other cities also showed significant price differences.
For flats, the study looked at those with 40m² of living space.
Nice had the biggest difference in price, with A- and B-rated apartments selling for an average of €227,816, while F- and G-rated ones averaged €178,559 – a difference of €49,257.
