What are the legal requirements for thermal renovation?

Over the years, thermal renovation has become a key issue for property owners in France.

The reasons for this are many and well known: it’s a major challenge in terms of saving energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Indeed, buildings account for almost 40% of energy consumption in France, and nearly 20% of greenhouse gas emissions, making them a crucial area in the fight against climate change.

Thermal renovation of buildings can take many forms, from insulating walls, roofs and floors, to replacing windows and doors, installing efficient heating and ventilation systems and installing centralized technical management. Such work can be costly for homeowners, but is often profitable in the long term thanks to the energy savings achieved.

However, given the importance of the issue, the French authorities have introduced legal requirements for thermal renovation. Property owners must comply with these obligations, or face sanctions.

What is thermal renovation?

To fully understand the legal requirements for thermal renovation, it’s crucial to understand what the term encompasses. Indeed, thermal renovation is not limited to a few isolated actions, but encompasses a series of improvements to be made in order to enhance a building’s energy performance. The aim is to reduce heat loss and thus save energy.

Thermal renovation can include insulating walls and roofs, replacing windows with more efficient models, improving the heating system and many other measures. In short, thermal renovation is an ambitious approach that involves a comprehensive reflection on how to make a building more energy-efficient and therefore more respectful of the environment.

Why is thermal renovation important?

Thermal renovation is a major challenge for the planet and for our society. It helps reduce the energy consumption of existing buildings, which account for a major share of energy consumption in France. What’s more, renovation helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which are responsible for climate change.

To help real estate professionals implement this thermal renovation, it is possible to choose a comprehensive, centralized solution to manage interventions in the buildings they manage. This type of software considerably streamlines and simplifies the management of building interventions, offering a reliable and sustainable level of performance. By using information centralization software, professionals can optimize the quality of service offered to occupants, while significantly reducing the costs associated with intervention management.

Thermal renovation obligations for homeowners

Owner-occupiers are subject to certain obligations when it comes to thermal renovation, particularly in the case of major renovation work. In particular, they must comply with energy performance criteria to qualify for certain financial assistance and to be able to sell their property in the future.

Owner-occupiers can benefit from centralized information software. These are highly effective, as they provide a centralized technical management solution to ensure meticulous planning of thermal renovation work and efficient communication between all the players involved. By using the key functionalities of this type of solution, owner-occupiers can optimize the quality of service offered to occupants, while significantly reducing the costs associated with managing interventions. What’s more, by offering a reliable and sustainable level of performance, homeowners are able to meet the energy performance criteria required to benefit from available financial aid.

Obligation to carry out work in the event of sale or rental

Owner-occupiers of a property are obliged to carry out thermal renovation work when selling or renting out their property. Since January 1, 2018, homeowners have been required to provide an energy performance diagnosis (DPE) when putting their property up for sale or rent. This diagnosis assesses the property’s energy performance and indicates the thermal renovation work required to improve this performance.

Obligation to carry out work when applying for subsidies

Owner-occupiers may also be required to carry out thermal renovation work if they apply for subsidies to do so. In fact, certain subsidies, such as the French tax credit for energy transition (crédit d’impôt pour la transition énergétique – CITE), are conditional on the completion of thermal renovation work.

Thermal renovation obligations for landlords

As a landlord, it’s important to comply with the thermal renovation obligations imposed by law. Current thermal regulations (RT 2012) require a minimum energy performance for new housing, but also for existing buildings undergoing major renovation. What’s more, the 2019 Energy-Climate Law sets out energy renovation obligations for rental housing from 2023.

In this context, Saas software can be an ideal solution for landlords looking to comply with these obligations. These software packages offer centralized technical management, enabling thermal renovation work to be monitored and planned in an efficient, streamlined way. With these tools, landlords can optimize the quality of service offered to their tenants, while reducing the costs associated with managing interventions.

In addition, it is essential to monitor energy consumption, enabling landlords to keep a close eye on the energy performance of their properties. This can help landlords identify buildings in need of thermal renovation, plan the work efficiently and assess the impact of the work on energy consumption.

Obligation to carry out work when letting a property

Landlords are also obliged to carry out thermal renovation work when letting out their property. As of July 1, 2021, rental properties must meet minimum energy performance criteria. Landlords must therefore carry out thermal renovation work if they want to rent out their property.

Obligation to carry out work when applying for subsidies

As in the case of owner-occupiers, landlords may be required to carry out thermal renovation work if they apply for subsidies to do so.

Monga can help you with your energy renovation project:

Monga’s centralized technical management software enables you to gather all the information you need for your project. Our solution is designed to improve repair and renovation processes, especially for building-related issues requiring crucial coordination.

Thanks to Monga, you can centralize all your information and call on certified professionals, all while making significant savings.