The Money · State Aid
State Aid for Renovating a French Derelict
France really does hand out grants to renovate old, energy-poor houses — sometimes up to 90% of the cost. But the headline hides a catch that hits exactly our kind of buyer: the money is for energy work, by certified tradespeople, on your main home. Here's what's real, what you can claim, who qualifies, and where a DIY off-grid buyer quietly falls outside the rules.
The one-line truth: the big French grants reward making an existing, occupied home warmer using RGE-certified firms — not a buyer rebuilding a wreck himself, not a second home, and not going off-grid from scratch. If you'll live in it full-time and pay a registered tradesperson for the insulation and heating, there's real money here. If you're doing the graft yourself on a bolt-hole, assume far less — and read the catches below before you count on a penny.
The schemes that exist
Four national grants and a tax break — the same everywhere in France.
- MaPrimeRénov'The main grant, income-based, paid toward energy work. Two routes: par geste (single jobs — insulation, a heat pump) and parcours accompagné / rénovation d'ampleur (a deep renovation gaining ≥2 DPE classes, with a compulsory Mon Accompagnateur Rénov'). The deep route pays up to ~90% for the most modest incomes.
- Éco-PTZA zero-interest loan for energy renovation, up to tens of thousands, repaid over years — cumulable with MaPrimeRénov'.
- CEE / prime énergie"Energy-saving certificates" — top-up payments from energy suppliers for insulation and heating, stackable with the above.
- Reduced VAT5.5% on qualifying energy-renovation work (vs 20%), and 10% on other renovation of a home over two years old — applied by the tradesperson.
- ANAH & local aidsThe national agency behind much of this, plus region / department / commune top-ups that vary by area (see below).
- DenormandieA tax reduction for renovating to let — but only in specific listed regenerating towns, not deep-rural villages.
Who can claim
The core conditions
For MaPrimeRénov' the home must generally be your main residence (occupied at least eight months a year), at least 15 years old (most of our stock is 1900–1921, so that's fine), and the work must be done by RGE-labelled professionals. Grants are income-banded — the lower your household income, the higher the percentage paid. A retired couple moving over on a pension, tax-resident in France with the house as their only home, is squarely the intended claimant.
Foreign buyers — yes, once you're resident
Nationality isn't the gate; tax residence and main-home status are. Once you live there full-time and file French tax, you claim on the same terms as anyone. See the right to live there for how that status is established.
What you can claim it for
Energy work — and only energy work
These grants exist to raise the DPE: insulation (walls, roof, floor), a low-carbon heating system (heat pump, wood/pellet — the kind of thing that suits one warm room), ventilation, and windows/doors as part of a package. A leaky G-rated wreck brought up two classes is exactly what the "rénovation d'ampleur" route is designed to fund.
The catch for our kind of buyer read this closely
DIY labour isn't covered
The grants pay for work invoiced by an RGE-certified firm. Do the insulation yourself and there's no grant on your labour — at best you claim on materials only through some schemes, and often not even that. On a project whose whole logic is doing the graft yourself, that removes most of the headline. The honest play is to self-do the bulk and buy in an RGE tradesperson for the one or two grant-eligible jobs (typically the heating system), then claim on those.
Main residence only — not a bolt-hole
MaPrimeRénov' is for your principal residence. A second home — a place you use a few months a year while you keep a base elsewhere — does not qualify for the main grant (the let-to-rent Denormandie route is the separate exception). If the derelict is your project rather than your home, plan as if the big grants aren't there.
Off-grid and "reconstruction" sit awkwardly
The grants improve an existing dwelling's rating. A near-total rebuild can be treated as reconstruction rather than renovation, and a standalone off-grid solar-and-battery set-up is not itself a MaPrimeRénov' target (grid-tied solar and low-carbon heating are the funded items). None of this kills the aid — it just means the money follows the habitable, connected, energy-improving parts of the job, not the off-grid dream.
Does it vary from area to area?
The national grants: identical everywhere
MaPrimeRénov', the Éco-PTZ, CEE payments and the 5.5% VAT are national — the same rules and rates whether the house is in the Creuse or the Aveyron. Your income band changes what you get, not your postcode.
The local top-ups and Denormandie: postcode matters
On top of the national pot, regions, departments and communes run their own grants, and these genuinely vary — some areas add a chunk, some add nothing. The Denormandie buy-to-let tax reduction only applies in listed regenerating towns (the "Action Cœur de Ville" / ORT lists) — the kind of former industrial town the Aveyron coal basin is dotted with, but not the deep-rural villages most of our houses sit in. The one reliable way to know for a given commune is your local free advice point.
How to check a specific house
Every area has a free, official Espace Conseil France Rénov' — impartial advisers who tell you exactly which national and local aids apply to that commune and your income. Use them before you budget; it costs nothing.
Before you count on it
The rules and amounts change most years — 2026 tightened the isolated-works route and pushed people toward deep renovation. So treat any figure as a starting point, get the current position from the official sources, and fold it into your overall budget only once an adviser has confirmed it for your house and your income.
Official sources (checked 20 September 2026)
France Rénov' — france-renov.gouv.fr · Service-Public — service-public.gouv.fr · ANAH — anah.gouv.fr. This page is a plain-English overview, not financial advice; confirm current rates and your eligibility with a France Rénov' adviser before relying on any of it.
Work the numbers with your eyes open
State aid is real money — but only on the parts of the job that fit the rules. Put it into the full budget alongside the fees, the taxes and the reno.
The real costs →