Energy renovation: the conditions for obtaining the new zero-rate loan finally known

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The outgoing government published this Wednesday the implementing decree for the “advance mutation loan”. This system allows households to carry out energy renovations on their homes thanks to a zero-rate loan… repaid when the property is sold.

After months of waiting, they are finally here. On September 4, the provisional government published in the Official Journal the implementing decrees for the “mutation advance loan” (PAM), a housing energy renovation scheme created… on December 29 during the 2024 Finance Act. The “PAM” is granted at zero interest and has been available since September 1, 2024. Households taking out this new loan – banks must take it up for it to start being distributed – therefore do not pay interest and, above all, benefit from a cash advance that allows them to start work immediately, even before receiving any MaPrimeRénov’ subsidies.

7 types of energy renovation work are eligible for this loan, such as roof insulation, exterior walls or glass partitions, 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 undertaken: 15,000 euros for one work item, 25,000 euros for two and finally 30,000 euros from three. 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, in an amount that 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 middle and low-income households

To receive 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 valid. A family of four will not be able to display 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 second home. Beneficiaries will also have to provide detailed quotes from the craftsmen to the bank so that it can ensure that the work is eligible for the PAM.

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

Finally, there remains the unknown of the support of banks, the main contacts for individuals. Only two establishments have thus promised that they would adopt this system: La Banque Postale 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 “Prefinancing Renovation Aids”. A zero-rate loan that allows households to receive a cash advance of up to 65,000 euros, repaid once the work is completed, when the MaPrimeRénov subsidies are distributed by the National Housing Agency.