Holiday rentals: what the new DPE changes on 1 January 2026
On 1 January 2026, the diagnostic de performance énergétique (DPE), France’s energy performance certificate, changed its calculation method. This is not a technicality reserved for surveyors: it directly affects the owners of gîtes and furnished holiday lets, who have already been dealing since late 2024 with the timetable set by the “Le Meur” law. Here is what matters, without padding.
The 2026 DPE: electricity rated more fairly
The decree was published on 26 August 2025 in the Journal officiel, for entry into force on 1 January 2026. The central change: the coefficient converting electricity into primary energy drops from 2.3 to 1.9. In practice, an electrically heated home will see its rating improve, or at worst stay the same. The Ministry of the Economy puts the consequence at around 850,000 homes leaving “energy sieve” status (F or G ratings), out of the roughly 4.8 million the stock counted on 1 January 2023.
For a gîte, the practical effect is direct. A G-rated home, which has been barred from holiday letting since 1 January 2025, can move up to F under the new calculation and become lettable again. Provided, of course, the survey is redone to obtain the new rating.
The Le Meur law timetable, by date
The law of 19 November 2024, aimed at strengthening the regulation of furnished holiday lets, sets a trajectory for banning thermal sieves, aligned with the Climat et Résilience law:
- since 1 January 2025, G-rated homes can no longer be offered for holiday letting;
- on 1 January 2028, F-rated homes follow;
- by 2034, all furnished holiday lets will have to show a DPE between A and D.
Properties already rented out before 19 November 2024 are treated separately: for existing lets, the obligation does not apply immediately. New furnished holiday lets, on the other hand, must show a DPE between A and E to reach the market.
National registration, deadline 20 May 2026
Another structural change: registration of furnished holiday lets becomes national and compulsory for everyone, primary and secondary residences alike. It goes through a single portal, no longer through the forms kept by each town hall. The date to remember is 20 May 2026: after that, municipalities have a lever to check compliance and apply sanctions.
This is a shift that rural gîte owners, often registered with their commune, need to take seriously. The registration number is the same in principle, but centralisation changes the game on control, especially in tight housing markets where the regulation of holiday letting is strictest.
And tax: the micro-BIC overhaul
The Le Meur law also touched landlords’ tax. The micro-BIC regime, which allows flat-rate taxation, sees its thresholds sharply lowered:
- for unclassified furnished holiday lets, the threshold drops from €188,700 to €15,000 of annual receipts;
- for classified lets and guest houses, it drops to €117,700.
The flat-rate allowance is also cut: 30% instead of 50% for unclassified lets. Many landlords who fell under micro-BIC therefore shift to the real regime, with an obligation to keep accounts. For a large-capacity gîte whose receipts exceed these thresholds, it means a change in taxation method that should be anticipated with an accountant.
What to do in practice
Three reflexes for 2026. First, redo the DPE if the home is electrically heated and sat at F or G: the new calculation may lift it out of the ban. Second, check the registration of the let on the new national portal before 20 May. Third, revisit the tax analysis: moving from micro-BIC to the real regime is not trivial, and it is prepared at the start of the year, not in December.
Large-capacity gîtes, often electrically heated and fitted with indoor pools, sit at the intersection of all three subjects. The DPE of a large building has nothing in common with that of a studio: surface, volumes and water heating weigh heavily. Better to start early.