Energy renovation: how to benefit from the new zero-interest loan?

The new “transfer advance loan” allows households to carry out the energy renovation of their home thanks to a zero-interest loan… reimbursed upon the sale of the property.

• 
  

  To safeguard
  
  
  

  Saved
  

Do you know the “advance transfer loan” (PAM)? This financing system for energy renovation work in homes, which came into force at the beginning of September, is granted at zero interest. Households taking out this new loan – the banks must take it in order for it to begin to be distributed – therefore do not pay interest and above all benefit from a cash advance which allows them to begin the work straight away. , even before receiving any MaPrimeRénov’ subsidies.

7 types of energy renovation work are eligible for this loan, such as the insulation of the roof, exterior walls or glass walls, as well as the replacement or installation of heating, water heater or ventilation systems. The maximum amount of the PAM will depend on the number of projects involved: 15,000 euros for one work station, 25,000 euros for two and finally 30,000 euros for three or more. The household will then have to repay the capital borrowed from the bank – the latter holds a mortgage – when the property is transferred, during a sale or inheritance. The State puts its hand in its pocket by granting the bank a tax credit, of an amount which allows it to compensate for the absence of interest.

>> Our service – Energy renovation: calculate the amount of your aid (MaPrimeRénov’, CEE, etc.) and find the right craftsman for your work

Help for medium and low-income households

To reach this future “zero PAM”, households will first have to respect a resource ceiling, as you can see in the table below. The reference tax income will be taken into account. A family of four will not be able to have an income higher than 58,981 euros per year in Île-de-France, and 44,802 euros in the rest of the country. This zero-rate credit can only be used for the main residence, and not for a rental investment or a secondary residence. Beneficiaries will also have to provide detailed quotes from craftsmen to the bank so that it can ensure that the work is indeed eligible for PAM.

Created in 2015, by the law relating to the energy transition for green growth, the advance transfer loan did not appeal to the banks. The government has therefore decided to make a new, more advantageous version as part of the Climate and Resilience Law of 2021. This initiative could be an effective way to give a real boost to the energy renovation of housing. As Olivier Sichel, number two at the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations, at the origin of the reform of the initial PAM, pointed out in 2021, 62% of owners of thermal strainers are over 60 years old. The PAM would then allow them to repay the borrowed capital at the time of their inheritance.

Finally, there remains the unknown of the adhesion of the banks, the main interlocutors of individuals. Only two establishments have promised that they would adopt this system: the Postal Bank and Crédit Mutuel. These two players are also the only ones to have marketed the renovation advance loan, a similar system which, however, comes with an interest rate of 2%: the Strasbourg establishment even distinguished itself this summer by launching its “ Pre-financing Renovation Aid”. A zero-interest credit which allows households to receive a cash advance of up to 65,000 euros, repaid once the work is completed, when MaPrimeRénov subsidies are distributed by the National Housing Agency.