Simulate your energy renovation

The 2028 deadline in figures, and what it changes for you

If you are here, it is often because a date is approaching. The energy-decency timetable for let homes is already written into the Climate and Resilience Act, and it concerns roughly 1.1 million homes in the private rental stock.

The timetable in force

In mainland France, a dwelling no longer meets the decency standard — so it cannot be let for any lease signed, renewed or tacitly extended — from 1 January 2025 if rated G, 1 January 2028 if rated F, 1 January 2034 if rated E. In Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, Réunion and Mayotte: from 1 January 2028 for class G and 1 January 2031 for class F, class E remaining decent there. A lease already running is not terminated. Source: Act no. 89-462 of 6 July 1989, art. 6, as worded by Act no. 2021-1104 of 22 August 2021 (Climate and Resilience), art. 160. A home that no longer meets the decency standard remains habitable and sellable: it is letting it — a new lease, a renewal or a tacit extension — that is no longer possible.

The cities with the largest number of F-rated homes, by volume

This ranking is by VOLUME, not by rate — it shows where demand for renovation work will concentrate, and therefore where tradesmen will be stretched. Paris alone accounts for nearly 93,400 F-rated private rental homes. Do not read it as a ranking of exposure: Marseille and Toulouse appear here because of their size, whereas at 2.5% and 2.8% F-rated they sit well below the national rate of 7.9%. The municipalities most exposed in proportion have a very different profile — Saint-Mandé peaks at 17.2%, Soisy-sous-Montmorency at 16.8%.

The mistakes that cost the most

1. 1

   Filing your grant application too late

   Your MaPrimeRénov’ application must be filed with UNSIGNED quotes, and the quote is only signed after the Anah notifies its approval. CEE bonuses, for their part, must be committed with the obligated party before the quote is signed. The two schemes have their own timings: a France Rénov’ adviser, free of charge, will set out the calendar.

   What it changes: This is the leading cause of rejection. The grants concerned are permanently lost, and the remaining cost shown by the simulator becomes the real cost, payable in full.

2. 2

   Adding MaPrimeRénov’ and CEE together with no cap

   Combining MaPrimeRénov’ with CEE bonuses is capped at a fraction of eligible spending that depends on your income bracket — this is known as écrêtement. Beyond the cap, the CEE bonuses are kept and it is MaPrimeRénov’ that is reduced accordingly. On the supported pathway the question does not arise: no CEE bonus is paid to the household — the beneficiary undertakes to reserve to the Anah the exclusive right to claim the certificates (decree no. 2020-26, art. 3 II-2°), and it folds them into MaPrimeRénov’.

   What it changes: A financing plan built on the raw sum of both schemes overstates the grants, sometimes by several thousand euros. The effect is sharpest for middle and higher-income households, whose cap is lowest.

3. 3

   Counting on MaPrimeRénov’ for insulation or ventilation

   Since 1 September 2026, MaPrimeRénov’ funds only four measures on the single-measure route in mainland France: heating heat pumps, connection to a district heating or cooling network, oil tank removal and the energy audit. Insulation — walls, lofts, floors, windows —, ventilation, wood-burning appliances and domestic hot water no longer qualify for any grant there. For works on the home itself, in mainland France, they remain fundable under the supported pathway, subject to its conditions, including those of the order of 17 November 2020 (art. 13-2); outside that pathway, they keep their CEE (energy saving certificate) bonuses; the 5.5% VAT rate is unchanged; the éco-PTZ (zero-interest eco-loan) remains open to those that make up one of its actions — ventilation installed on its own is not one (it only counts as an accessory to a heating or hot-water measure under action d): French Construction and Housing Code (CCH), art. D. 319-16, I, 1°, d)). The supported pathway is reserved for homes rated E, F or G before works and conditional on a gain of at least two classes (order of 17 November 2020, art. 13-2, 1° a)). Two further conditions now apply to single-family houses on the supported pathway: no fossil-fuel equipment may remain after the works, for heating or for hot water — connection to a district heating network being the sole exception — and the whole-house CEE bonus is likewise restricted to homes rated E, F or G.

   What it changes: In mainland France, an insulation or ventilation package now shows €0 of MaPrimeRénov’ on the single-measure route, whatever your rating. Moving to the supported pathway requires an E, F or G home and a gain of at least two classes: if yours is already rated D or better, neither route opens. Worth knowing before requesting quotes.

4. 4

   Entering an income that is not the reference tax income

   The grant bracket is computed on the household’s reference tax income — the figure on your tax notice — not on net salary nor on one person’s income. The ceilings also differ between Île-de-France and the rest of the country: for a single person in the "very modest" bracket, €24,031 in Île-de-France against €17,363 elsewhere.

   What it changes: A single bracket of difference already changes the flat amount for each measure: in mainland France, €5,000 against €4,000 for an air-to-water heat pump between "very modest" and "modest". Two brackets of difference widen the gap to €5,000 against €3,000.

5. 5

   Simulating from a label computed on a different step of the electricity factor

   The primary-energy factor applied to electricity depends on the date the certificate was issued: 2.3 from 1 July 2021 to 31 December 2025, 1.9 in 2026, 1.7 from 1 January 2027 (values for mainland France). A certificate issued under an earlier step may show a class that is no longer the home’s, especially where heating is electric. The simulator’s “certificate date” field places your certificate against those steps.

   What it changes: The number of classes gained by the works changes, and with it the applicable grant pathway and the spending cap. Get ADEME’s free attestation before simulating.

6. 6

   Not checking the coherence of the starting certificate

   The simulator starts from your certificate’s data: floor area, declared insulation, heating system. Across an observable sub-sample of 689,279 analysed certificates, 11.1% show at least one major inconsistency on one of the checked items, and 41.3% an inconsistency of any severity. These are rates of analysed certificates, not of homes in France.

   What it changes: If the declared insulation does not match the actual building, the simulated class gain and grant amounts start from a false basis. Having the certificate checked before costing a package avoids sizing the works wrongly.

What makes the difference before 1 January 2028

Leaving class F rarely takes a single measure: it is generally by combining insulation with the heating system that you move up several letters. The simulator above quantifies the gain of each combination for your specific home — that is the calculation to run before committing to anything, rather than relying on a rule of thumb.

One point does apply to everyone, though: your MaPrimeRénov’ application must be filed with UNSIGNED quotes, and the quote is only signed after the Anah notifies its approval. A quote signed before filing makes the works ineligible — it is the leading cause of rejection, and the costliest mistake we see.

A final watch-point: co-ownerships. If your heating or hot water is collective, the corresponding works require a general meeting vote and fall under a separate grant bracket. Plan well ahead — the audit, the vote and then the works follow the rhythm of general meetings, which are usually annual.

Frequently Asked Questions about Renovation Works