Heating: new information to be provided by landlords

With a view to reducing energy consumption in residential buildings, particularly collective ones, the legislator introduced a new information requirement in July 2019, which came into force on 25 October 2020. The stated objective is to improve landlord-tenant relations and enable further action to reduce energy bills by making users more accountable. Let us specify exactly what this new requirement involves and what impact it will have on landlords.

What is the obligation?

It is the new article 6-2 of the law of 6 July 1989 which, by transposing a European directive and by Order of 15 July 2020, obliges the landlord to inform their tenant about the actual consumption of cooling, heating and hot water in a rented property.

Specifically, where the building is equipped with a central heating installation, the landlord must provide the tenant with an estimate of heating and hot water charges, or a detailed breakdown if the building already has the necessary systems in place. This raises certain questions depending on the type of technology in place within the co-ownerships.

But the obligation does not end there, and to quote precisely the terms of the Order of 24 July 2020 supplementing the law, the information provided to the tenant must contain (quotation from the text):

• The unit price of kWh and the amount excluding VAT of consumptions;
• The description of the various tariffs, taxes and charges applied;
• The fuels used and the associated greenhouse gas emissions;
• The renewable energy and recovery rate, calculated according to the methods defined in the annex to this Order;
• The energy performance of the network, calculated according to the methods in the annex;
• The actual consumption of the building measured by the thermal or refrigeration energy metering system;
• The comparison of current heating or cooling consumption data for the building with its consumption for the same period in the previous year, in graphical form, with data adjusted for climatic variations for heating and cooling;
• The comparison of heating or cooling consumption data with an average user in the same category;
• The comparison of heating or cooling consumption data with national energy performance objectives as set out in the multi-annual energy programme;
• The contact details of the competent service for handling complaints;
• The website address and telephone number of the FAIRE information service on renovation;
• The website address of the Environment and Energy Management Agency;
• The postal address and website address of the national energy ombudsman, accompanied by the following statement: ‘In the event of a dispute relating to the performance of the contract, if your written complaint to has not enabled the dispute to be resolved within a period of two months, you may refer the matter to the national energy ombudsman’.

Landlords would be well advised to take the initiative to protect themselves from possible tenant actions for non-compliance. Co-ownership syndicates will probably take over by preparing the information note on behalf of their owner clients.

The necessary transformation of meters

Among co-ownerships equipped with collective heating, some have individual hot water meters, as well as heating cost allocators indicating the share absorbed by the dwelling from the common central heating. But this is not the case everywhere, and their installation will delay the implementation of the measure.

While the law specifies that the buildings concerned are those ‘fitted with remotely readable cost individualisation devices’, these are not in place everywhere. The application decree provides that by 25 October 2020, all newly installed points must be remotely readable. The updating of old metering systems must be carried out by 1 January 2027.

The additional cost involved in the transformation is expensive and often exceeds the energy savings achieved from consumption control—at least in the short term. Moreover, in some co-ownerships, the installation of the necessary devices is simply not technically possible (in the case of thermal slabs, for example), or would require rethinking the entire installation.

The rule will therefore remain in some places the metering of the heating bill using the system of shares set out in the co-ownership regulations. What the general text of the aforementioned law also provides for by speaking of estimates to be provided within the co-ownerships: we can deduce from these terms that they will be based on dividing the bill by the surface area occupied within the co-ownership. However, justification will be required.

The enforceable EPC

Furthermore, the law on the evolution of housing, development and digital (ELAN) of 23 November 2018 provides that the energy performance certificate becomes enforceable against the landlord. In plain terms, a high heating bill for a property classified as energy-efficient could justify a request for rent reduction, for example.

The landlord is then considered to have provided incorrect information and must remedy this fault. No need to panic if you are unsure about information already provided, this measure will only come into force on 1 July 2021. The information becoming mandatory from 25 October will protect the tenant from bad surprises but also the landlord, whose meter readings will demonstrate good faith.

The measure, while it may seem pertinent, will generate a significant number of investments in older co-ownerships where it will not always be welcome. Let us hope that it is nevertheless a step forward leading to greater energy responsibility, at a time when energy consumption is a major challenge for the future. One thing is certain: the next co-ownership general meetings will be animated by this debate!

You should also read: ‘Energy renovation of your home: what assistance can you request?’