"As soon as there is aid, there is an increase in prices": too many perverse effects and abuses for MaPrimeRenov'?

Energy renovation contractors are angry about the suspension of MaPrimeRenov' on July 1st. This decision was made by Economy Minister Eric Lombard, who denounced the number of fraudulent applications, while the number of homes renovated with MaPrimeRénov' subsidies tripled in the first quarter compared to the same period in 2024.

But some tradespeople are welcoming the decision, arguing that the subsidies would have led to unnecessary work and price increases. This is the case for Mickaël, a heating engineer in the Rhône department, who runs a company that has observed abuses on both the customer and supplier side: "In the context of heating, this isn't bad news, quite the opposite," he said on RMC Story this Friday.

"When you're RGE (Recognized Environmental Guarantor, a quality label), you learn that insulation is the most important thing. And in heating, I see that technical choices are no longer emphasized. The only thing emphasized is financial assistance," he laments.

Perverse effects were known before MaPrimeRenov' with subsidies for photovoltaics or the tax credit on certain boilers: "When there is aid, there is price inflation. Equipment prices increase, and when everything stops, they decrease," continues Mickaël.

"It's a classic effect like housing benefits that increase rent prices," adds RMC economics specialist Emmanuel Lechypre.

Gilles, an RMC listener, has just noticed this drop in prices following the end of the subsidies: "I wanted to install photovoltaic panels to reduce my electricity consumption. We had a quote for 13,700 euros, and when MaPrimeRenov' was announced to be discontinued, the salesperson called me back and told me it had gone up to 11,000 euros," he says, thus believing that his quote was "completely" inflated by the subsidies. "These tradespeople tell people, 'Don't worry about the quote, it's only going to cost you 1 euro, the State pays the rest,'" Gilles laments.

Vincent, a craftsman at a heat pump company, acknowledges that the end of MaPrimeRenov' will hurt him: "It's not a good thing, but there's a lot more fraud than reported," he says. "Salespeople prepare the MaPrimeRenov' file for customers who can no longer sign up elsewhere. There are also conflicts of interest with the person who performs the diagnosis and says insulation work needs to be done. And, as luck would have it, another company does this work."

Mickaël also mentions abuses on the customer side: "As a prescriber and not a seller of aid, I am happy that common sense is being restored, that people are not talking to me about aid in customer meetings but about housing needs, technical choices and not financial aid." He recalls cases of customers who replaced their boiler 5 years earlier with a tax credit, who wanted a heat pump with the help of MaPrimeRenov' despite their heating equipment still being efficient.

If, despite everything, some people are tempted to carry out energy renovation work, they can submit a MaPrimeRenov' grant application until July 1st before the system is suspended.