DPE class F: no new lease from January 1, 2028

What the law says

From January 1, 2028, a home rated F on its DPE will no longer meet the energy performance criterion of a decent home (article 6 of the law of 6 July 1989): no lease signed, renewed or tacitly renewed from that date.

In Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, La Réunion and Mayotte, the rule applies from January 1, 2031.

The current lease

A lease running on that date goes on. But the home will have to be decent when it is renewed or tacitly renewed, and the tenant will be able to demand that it be brought up to standard, before a judge if need be.

An unfurnished lease granted by a private landlord runs for three years, a furnished one for one year, and each renews itself at its term: check now when each of your leases next falls due.

The rent is already frozen

Since August 24, 2022 in mainland France (July 1, 2024 overseas), the rent of an F home can no longer be reviewed against the IRL, nor raised at renewal, nor raised between two tenants.

What you can do

• Plan the energy renovation works before the first lease term after January 1, 2028, then have a new DPE drawn up to prove the new class.
• Get free advice from France Rénov' (0 808 800 700), the public home-renovation service, on works and grants.
• Electrically heated home: the coefficient for electricity in the DPE has been lowered, and the class may go up a notch without works. Updating it is free on ADEME's DPE observatory, with no new visit.
• In a co-ownership: ask now for the works on the common parts to be put on the general meeting's agenda, as the vote and the works often take more than a year.