Letting and the DPE: the G, F, E ban timetable

The timetable: which ratings can still be let?

Article 6 of Act no. 89-462, in the version in force since 1 January 2025 (unchanged as at 11 October 2026), sets the minimum performance level of a decent home:

Overseas (Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, La Réunion, Mayotte): ratings A to F from 1 January 2028, A to E from 1 January 2031 (art. 6).

Which leases? The criteria apply to new leases and to leases that are renewed or tacitly extended from each deadline, for both unfurnished and furnished lettings, in both the private and social housing sectors. A lease in progress is only caught when it is renewed or tacitly extended (ministère de la Transition écologique, the Ministry for the Ecological Transition). Seasonal lettings (meublés de tourisme, furnished holiday lets) are not subject to article 6.

The rent freeze for F and G homes

Since 24 August 2022, the loi Climat et résilience (Climate and Resilience Act) has prohibited any rent increase for private-sector homes rated F or G, for contracts entered into, renewed or tacitly extended after that date (Ministry for the Ecological Transition). In particular, the freeze blocks:

• the annual review during the lease (indexation clause);
• an increase on re-letting or on renewal.

It covers unfurnished and furnished lettings and baux mobilité (short-term furnished leases for people in training or on assignment), but not furnished holiday lets. The rent can only rise again after works that take the home out of passoire (energy sieve) status, that is to say reaching at least rating E, proven by a new DPE.

What the landlord of a substandard home risks

A home that does not meet the threshold in force is not decent. The tenant can go to court (referral to the commission départementale de conciliation, the departmental conciliation committee, is optional); the judge can order works, reduce the rent or suspend its payment, and suspend the term of the lease until the works are done (art. 20-1 of the 1989 Act, according to the Ministry). The tenant must keep paying until the judge has ruled. If the tenant receives housing benefit, the CAF or the MSA (the bodies that pay it) can withhold it for 18 months at most (extendable in some cases): the tenant pays only the rent net of the benefit, and the landlord recovers the amount only if they carry out the works within that period.

Co-ownership: the judge cannot order the works if the landlord shows that, despite their efforts to have the works on the common parts voted through and to carry out those on their own lot, they were unable to reach the required level.

An agent immobilier (estate agent) must refuse to let a home that is not decent (Ministry for the Ecological Transition).

What changed in the DPE calculation in 2024, 2026 and 2027

Small homes (1 July 2024). The rating thresholds were adapted for homes of 40 m² or less (reference floor area). Owners concerned can download from the Ademe website (the French ecological transition agency) a certificate replacing the original label (service-public.gouv.fr).

Electricity, step 1 (1 January 2026). The arrêté (ministerial order) of 13 August 2025 reduced the factor for converting electricity from final energy to primary energy from 2.3 to 1.9. DPEs carried out since then include the new coefficient; those from 2025 and earlier remain valid and can be updated free of charge, without a new visit, if the rating improves (service-public.gouv.fr).

Electricity, step 2 (1 January 2027). The order of 19 August 2026, published in the Journal officiel (official gazette) of 26 August 2026, lowers this factor from 1.9 to 1.7 from 1 January 2027 and repeals the 2025 order. According to service-public.gouv.fr, the rating of heavily electric homes may improve by one class, or even two in rare cases (small homes); no rating will be downgraded. Existing DPEs remain valid for 10 years and can be updated free of charge on Ademe’s DPE-Audit Observatory.

These changes alter the calculation, not the timetable: the dates of 2025, 2028 and 2034 remain those of article 6.

How long a DPE is valid for letting

The landlord must provide a DPE less than 10 years old when the lease is signed or renewed. DPEs carried out between 1 January 2018 and 30 June 2021 have no longer been valid since 1 January 2025; those carried out since 1 July 2021 are valid for 10 years (service-public.gouv.fr). Adverts for F- or G-rated homes must carry the words “logement à consommation énergétique excessive” (home with excessive energy consumption).

Which professional to consult

The certified diagnostiqueur immobilier (property surveyor) is the only person authorised to produce the DPE; using an uncertified surveyor exposes the landlord to a €1,500 fine (€3,000 for a repeat offence) according to service-public.gouv.fr. They will also tell you whether your home gains a class with the new coefficients. The managing estate agent checks that the home is decent before any letting and must refuse a non-compliant property. For a home to be sold rather than renovated, the notaire (notary) will tell you which documents to attach, including the energy audit for houses rated E, F or G.