DPE Report Needed When Selling Property in France

Forming part of a new raft of legislation known as the Grenelle Environnement, the DPE (diagnostic de performance energetique) report for properties in France for sale or rent is mandatory from 1 January 2011.

What is the DPE and why is the French government implementing it now?

Forming part of a new raft of legislation known as the Grenelle Environnement, the DPE (diagnostic de performance energetique) report for properties in France for sale or rent is mandatory from 1 January 2011. On all adverts for properties for rent or sale, the rating chart for energy consumption must be shown (as an energy rating between the bands of A to G).

Additionally, in the case of a resale, the vendor will have to have the DPE report to give to prospective buyers automatically, rather than previously, when it was something that could have been produced if the prospective buyer specifically asked for it. Similarly, with rentals (long-term, rather than holiday lets), this information now has to form part of the rental contract, whereas before it was something the potential renter had to request.

Effective from 1 January 2011, it applies to nearly all homes, whether they are resale, new-builds or an extension, and whether they are public buildings or private houses (one of the few exemptions are historic, listed buildings). Property agents and private sellers are bound by this legislation. One of the intentions is to make buyers and renters aware of the energy performance of a building, its CO2 emissions and running costs.

In the wider context, the French government has set a target of reducing the energy consumption of French homes from the current average of 250kWh/m2 to 150kWh/m2 by 2020, and ultimately 50kWh/m2 by 2050...