A property owner who discovers that their property is rated G on the energy performance diagnosis a few weeks before signing a new lease finds themselves facing a wall: a ban on renting since January 2025, and the obligation to renovate or sell urgently. This type of situation, increasingly common, illustrates why structured real estate support makes a difference between a project that succeeds and one that stagnates.
EPC and rental bans: the trap that real estate services must anticipate
Since January 1, 2025, properties rated G on the energy performance diagnosis are banned from being rented for any new lease, renewal, or tacit extension. Class F will follow in 2028, and class E in 2034. For a landlord, ignoring this timeline means blocking their rental investment without notice.
At the same time, a technical change alters the situation. The decree of August 13, 2025, lowered the conversion coefficient of electricity to primary energy to 1.9 as of January 1, 2026, down from 2.3. As a result: approximately 850,000 properties have exited the status of energy sieve without any work being done. A property heated by electricity may have changed class without the owner being aware.
This is exactly where the real estate services of Angie Sweet Home intervene concretely, by cross-referencing the analysis of the existing EPC with regulatory developments to guide each owner towards the right decision: renovate, re-rent under conditions, or sell at the right time.
Housing Law 2026: re-renting a property rated F or G under a renovation commitment
On July 8, 2026, the Senate adopted the “Revitalization and Decentralization of Housing” law. This text reopens the possibility of renting properties rated F and G, provided that the owner formally commits to a renovation program within a defined timeframe. We move from a strict ban to a conditional framework.
On the ground, this changes a lot of things. A property owner with an old house in a tight market (Loire, northern France, certain medium-sized towns) is no longer forced to choose between selling at a loss or leaving the property vacant. They can sign a lease while planning insulation or heating system changes.
What this implies for real estate support
Preparing a relocation file under a renovation commitment requires coordinating several parties: diagnostician, contractor, notary, sometimes a broker for financing the work. A real estate service that masters this framework saves several months for the owner compared to managing it alone.
Feedback varies on this point depending on the territories, as local authorities do not all apply the same level of requirement for work justification. This is an additional reason to rely on a contact who knows the local market.
Real estate valuation and sale price: the costly mistakes
We regularly see properties for sale with a price disconnected from the market. The owner based their price on an online estimate, on the price of a neighbor’s property sold three years ago, or on the amount they “need” to recover. None of these methods reflect the reality of a rapidly changing market.
A real estate agent who works in a specific area (for example, around Saint-Jean, in the Loire region or in the north) has access to recent transaction data, visitor feedback, and a detailed understanding of the competitive offer. Ground-level estimation remains the best tool for setting a realistic sale price.
Three often underestimated criteria in an estimation
- The EPC class of the property, which directly influences negotiation: a buyer now incorporates the cost of energy renovation work into their offer, which can lower the price by several points
- The relationship between the listed price and the average selling time in the area: an overvalued property stays online too long and ends up selling below the fair price
- The quality of presentation (photos, home staging, description): properties that benefit from professional enhancement attract more qualified visits in the first weeks
Rental investment: choosing the right area rather than the right price
Many investors start their search by looking at the price per square meter. This is logical, but it often leads to biased decisions. A cheap property in an area with no rental demand costs more than a properly valued property in a tight zone.
The actual occupancy rate and local rental demand take precedence over the purchase price when reasoning in terms of net yield. A real estate service rooted in a territory can provide this data, whereas a national portal only displays smoothed averages.
What structured support brings to the investor
We are not just talking about finding a property. We are talking about checking EPC compliance before purchase, anticipating necessary work to stay within regulatory limits, calculating the ratio between achievable rent and actual charges, and securing financing.
An agent who intervenes before the search, and not just at the time of the visit, transforms an impulsive purchase into a structured investment. This is the difference between a property that generates returns from the first month and one that accumulates rental vacancies.
The French real estate market is entering a phase where energy regulation is reshaping buying, selling, and renting strategies. Property owners and investors who rely on support capable of translating these constraints into concrete decisions stay ahead of those who navigate alone between legal texts and approximate estimates.
