Quebec must force the renovation of poorly insulated housing buildings by imposing sanctions on refractory owners, believes Hydro-Québec. In France, those who have poorly rated buildings will even be prohibited from renting the apartments.
Since January, the Minister of the Environment, Benoît Charette, has been studying Bill 41, which attacks thermal sieves in certain categories, namely buildings in the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as certain very large buildings that are poorly insulated. and lose a lot of energy.
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By 2030, these buildings will be rated according to their efficiency and owners will have to carry out upgrade work while taking advantage of generous government programs.
Minister Charette estimates that he will thus be able to save as much energy as that produced by the Romaine dam.
Benoît Charette, candidate for the Coalition Avenir Québec during the national debate on the green economy organized by Réseau Environnement, CETEQ and AQPER. Montreal, September 19, 2022. PIERRE-PAUL POULIN/LE JOURNAL DE MONTRÉAL/AGENCE QMI
Archive photo, Pierre-Paul Poulin
“The energy that we don’t use is the least expensive by necessity,” he explained in an interview. But Hydro-Québec would like it to go even further.
Rentals prohibited
In France, the rating system has existed for a very long time and targets all buildings, including the entire residential sector. Gabriel Attal’s government will tighten the screws further.
Since the start of the year, owners whose rental properties are rated “G”, i.e. the lowest rated and the least well insulated, must carry out renovations to improve their balance sheet, otherwise they cannot rent the apartments.
From 2025, buildings rated “EF and G” will be covered by the same rule. More than 5 million homes will need to be renovated. The French government is offering financial support to carry out the renovations.
Hydro Pressure
Hydro-Québec would like Benoit Charette’s law to include all buildings, including residences.
“We already have the electricity consumption data. It’s easy. For us, we must rate all the buildings and this translates into incentives”
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Photo JOEL LEMAY, QMI Agency
“We are not obliged, in our opinion, especially in the context of a housing crisis, to say: “one day you will no longer be able to rent your apartment”. But maybe you can say: “you can’t raise the rent anymore” […] The best consumers must have advantages that the worst will not have.”
Joël Lemay / QMI Agency
“A mistake”
Despite pressure from Hydro, the Minister of the Environment believes for his part that France is making a mistake in prohibiting rental rentals, even if it is a pioneer in this area.
“We want to avoid the errors of the French experience […] who adjusts his ambitions downwards,” he pleads.
Mr. Charette affirms that France had to review its energy performance diagnostics.
With its bill, Quebec has also given itself the means to force the renovation of energy-intensive buildings. However, he plans to take his time. “We have to go step by step. It’s a colossal challenge.”
The minister hopes that the law will be adopted by the end of March.
Precarious tenants pay the price
PARIS | More than 5 million homes are thermal sieves in France and will need to be renovated. Until then, like in Quebec, low-income families must foot the bill.
In France, owners are using the housing shortage argument in the hope of convincing the government to reverse course. They will be prohibited from renting the apartments if they are not renovated.
In this case, the French organization CLER – Network for Energy Transition – considers that the argument concerning the shortage of housing is meaningless due to the poor quality of life of tenants.
“The people who live in it are not comfortable. There is a lot of air infiltration, they are not well insulated. It’s as if we were heating the outside,” mentioned Isabelle Gasquest, energy efficiency project manager for CLER.
“We say “strainer” because there are thermal leaks.”
The organization recalls that 12 million French people are in a situation of energy poverty, that one in two people live in a thermal sieve.
They are the ones who end up with the highest electricity bills and who experience discomfort, she says.
An important lever
“Their efficient renovation is the most powerful lever to reverse this phenomenon,” she says. These statistics exist because all housing has been inspected and rated in France for more than a decade.
“The objective is to no longer have poor housing,” adds Alice Louis of the Regional House of Environment and Solidarity in Lille.
Alice Louis from the Regional House of Environment and Solidarity in Lille
Nicolas Lachance
In Quebec, when the law is adopted, inspections are carried out and housing is rated, the government will only have a partial picture of the situation since the Minister of the Environment, Benoît Charette, refuses, for moment, to attack the residential sector.
Equity
For its part, Hydro-Québec said it was aware of energy inequity. “It’s particularly problematic for tenants versus owners,” says vice-president Dave Rhéaume, admitting that the poorest tenants suffer.
“Owners say to themselves: ‘Why would I invest to improve performance, I’m not the one paying the bill?’”
He believes that France has done things well to identify recalcitrant owners.
For his part, the Minister of the Environment of Quebec affirms that incentive measures and subsidies are available to encourage owners and tenants to improve the energy efficiency of their buildings.