French DPE and Diagnostics: What the Seller Must Hand You

The house is charming. Its energy label is G.

Article L271-4 of the Code de la construction et de l'habitation makes the seller attach a dossier de diagnostic technique to the promesse de vente, twelve reports from lead to energy performance. The DPE lasts ten years, and since 2025 a class G home cannot be newly let, with F following in 2028 and E in 2034.

What must be in the file?

Twelve documents, by law. Article L271-4 lists the constat de risque d'exposition au plomb, the état on asbestos, the état on termites, the état of the interior gas installation, the état des risques in designated zones, the diagnostic de performance énergétique and where required the energy audit, the état of the interior electrical installation, the document from the inspection of a non-collective sewage system, the information on dry rot risk, the document on airport noise zones, the certificate on wood-heating appliances, and any police orders on the building's safety or sanitation.

The second paragraph of the same article gives the file its teeth. When the lead, asbestos, termite, gas, electricity or sewage document is missing or out of date at the signing of the deed, the seller cannot exclude the warranty for hidden defects on that point. A file that is complete protects the seller; a file with a gap protects you.

How long is each diagnostic valid?

Not the same length. Article R271-5 of the same code requires the lead assessment to be under one year old, the termite report under six months, and the gas and electricity reports under three years. The public information service service-public.fr states that a DPE carried out after 1 July 2021 is valid for ten years, and that DPEs made between 1 January 2018 and 30 June 2021 expired on 1 January 2025.

Service-public adds a detail that changes the letter itself: from 1 January 2026 the DPE uses a new conversion factor for electricity, 1.9 instead of 2.3, so an electrically heated home assessed under the new rule can land on a different class than the same home assessed a year earlier.

Which classes can no longer be let?

G today, F soon, E later. The Ministry of Ecological Transition sets out the calendar: since 1 January 2025 a dwelling must have at least class F to be let, from 1 January 2028 at least class E, and from 1 January 2034 at least class D. The rules apply to new tenancies and to leases renewed or tacitly renewed from each date, not to a lease running before it. The same law froze rents on F and G homes in the private sector from 24 August 2022.

For a buyer who intends to let, the letter is therefore a legal status with a date attached. For a buyer who intends to live in the home, it is a renovation bill with a date attached, and a resale constraint.

What does the DPE tell you in euros?

An estimate of the annual energy cost. Service-public describes the DPE as the diagnostic that informs the buyer or tenant of the projected energy costs and recommends improvements, and it notes that the price of the diagnostic itself is not regulated: each professional sets a fee. The figure that matters is the projected cost on the document, which is what the letter summarises.

We do not give buying advice. What the code and the ministry's own pages support is this: the seller owes you a file of dated documents, six of them protect you when missing, the DPE is good for ten years, and a G, F or E letter carries a letting ban with a date. AiMYNDi reads the dossier de diagnostic technique with the listing and puts each expiry and each letter next to the price. An example of what a report looks like shows the legal section, and what a first-time buyer pays the notaire covers the other bill at the deed.