‘Renovation wave’ kicks off – looking to France for clues

By 29 May 2026, EU member states were required to transpose the "EU renovation wave" Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) into their national laws. Many of them missed the deadline, but we expect that by the end of the year, most of them will have completed the transposition. As part of the process, countries have to legislate on specific items, including a definition of the minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) and a harmonisation of the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) systems.

The progress on the transposition is not consistent, with several countries still far from completion. France is among the few countries that has already completed the transposition process, and we take a closer look at the national renovation trends there for clues as to what the impact of the EPBD implementation might be once implemented across the EU.

In the Nordics, the EPBD implementation leverages extensively on existing legislation, which to some degree is already aligned with the ambition level of the EPBD; however, the details are still being ironed out. Denmark, Finland and Sweden are among the EU countries that have already submitted draft renovation plans to the Commission. In Sweden, the process to define MEPS levels is still ongoing, and finalisation is likely to take several more months. Denmark and Finland are at an advanced stage, with strong renovation governance already in place. Norway is outside of the EU track, although as a member of the EEA, it is likely to align to the EPBD, just with more flexible timelines.