The DPE energy rating explained before you buy

The diagnostic de performance énergétique, or DPE, rates a home from A to G. It appears on every property listing in France and weighs more and more in buying decisions, especially if you plan to let the property.

Two measures, one class

Since 1 July 2021 the DPE has been based on two figures: primary energy use, in kWh per square metre per year, and greenhouse gas emissions, in kg of CO₂ per square metre per year. The home is given the worse of the two classes.

For energy use the thresholds are: A up to 70 kWh/m²/year, B up to 110, C up to 180, D up to 250, E up to 330, F up to 420, G above. For emissions: A up to 6 kg CO₂/m²/year, B up to 11, C up to 30, D up to 50, E up to 70, F up to 100, G above. Since 1 July 2024, adjusted thresholds apply to homes smaller than 40 m².

What the class means for letting

France’s Climate and Resilience law is gradually removing the least efficient homes from the rental market. Since 1 January 2025, a home rated G can no longer be let under a new lease. The same rule will apply to F-rated homes in 2028, then to E-rated homes in 2034. For a buy-to-let project, the energy class is therefore a key criterion.

What the class means for selling

To sell a detached house rated F or G, an energy audit has been compulsory since 1 April 2023, and since 1 January 2025 for class E. The audit sets out costed renovation scenarios, which is useful for a buyer preparing a budget.

Reading the DPE of an old house

A stone house has good thermal mass, which the calculation does not always reward. Look first at:

• loft and roof insulation, where much of the heat escapes;
• windows and glazing;
• the heating system and how hot water is produced;
• the date of the survey and the works it recommends.

A DPE carried out before 1 July 2021 is no longer valid today, so ask for a survey made with the current method. Renovation grants exist, including MaPrimeRénov’, but their conditions change regularly: check them when your project starts.

Each property page shows its energy class. You can show only houses rated A to D.