Housing: DPE energy diagnostics will be “simplified”, promises Bruno Le Maire

By becoming a key procurement criterion, Energy Performance Diagnostics (EPD) can be simplified, especially for smaller areas. This is what Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, who is also in charge of energy after the reshuffle, promised on Tuesday.

During a meeting with entrepreneurs on simplification in Viry-Châtillon (Essonne), the minister said that he “continues to think that we must simplify the DPE.” “And so it will be,” he assured, “especially since small territories are treated the same as large territories.” This is “extremely important for student housing,” he said.

“I opened this topic a few months ago, I was criticized for it,” explained Bruno Le Maire. “In general, when I start a topic, (…) a fight that seems fair to me, (…) I go to the end,” he warned, agreeing that managing Energy now gives him “more legitimacy for it.”

“We’ll build it quickly”

At the end of September, due to inflation, the Minister appeared to be in favor of extending the ban on Category G rentals from January 2025, and the ban on Category F rentals under the new Diagnostic Energy Standard (DPE) to 2028. . It no longer depends on energy bills, but on the characteristics of the building. A few days later, he was no longer talking about changing the calendar, but about the need to make changes to the DPE, which, according to him, represents “bias.”

The government’s number two also assured that there would be a “text on housing” because there is an “urgent need for rapid construction in very densely populated areas.” “We are going to build quickly, by simplifying rules, benefits, supporting the construction sector, it will work, it will be more efficient,” he assured, confirming that this text will not resemble the “old housing policy.” and would not be accompanied by “tax measures that allow some people to line their pockets to build a small number of housing units.”