French renovation grants maintained for insulation and boiler replacements

Government grants for smaller, single-aspect eco-renovations will be maintained throughout the summer despite a wider pause on the MaPrimeRénov’ scheme, the government announced yesterday. 

A plan to halt funding for the programme was announced earlier this month as the government looked to crack down on fraudulent claims and deal with an inundation of applications. 

It promised the scheme would return, probably before the end of the year, once the issues were resolved.

The decision angered builders, who said the sector was being placed in jeopardy, as well as homeowners who were partway through planning a renovation – or had already filed for funding.

However, Housing Minister Valérie Létard announced on Monday (June 16) evening that funding for 'monogestes' – single renovations such as roof insulation, replacing of windows, or installation of a heat pump or boiler – would not be paused during the coming months. 

It means that new applications for grants relating to monogestes can still be submitted.. 

At the same time, the deadline to submit applications for major works before the pause period could be brought forward to June 21 (from the stated deadline of June 30) as the number of grant applications has doubled since the announcement of the imminent pause.

In recent days, over 400 applications per day for larger works have been submitted, compared to the usual 200. 

Between January 1 and May 31, 120,000 applications for all renovation types were submitted, including for monogestes.

Building sector pleased with announcement

“It is a great victory for the Fédération française du bâtiment [French builders federation, FBB], and above all for our customers, who will be able to have visibility when it comes to renovating their homes,” said head of the federation Olivier Salleron (quoted in FranceInfo). 

It is also “a victory for the hundreds of thousands of craftsmen who work in this niche which accounts for 30 to 40% of their sales,” he added. 

A meeting on Tuesday between sector leaders and the government will finalise plans for the scheme’s pause. 

There are reports that the government plans to lower the amount of maximum funding available (for example, reducing cost coverage from 90% to 80% for the most modest income households) as part of aims to cut the increasing cost of the renovations. 

The reported aim is that no subsidy for any combination of work on a property should cost the state more than €50,000 through funding, says media outlet Le Dauphiné.

If current trends from the start of the year continue the €3.6 billion annual budget for the scheme would be exhausted by September, with any future applications being postponed until 2026. 

An increase to the funds allocated is considered out of the question given the government is looking to save around €40 billion in the 2026 budget.