Combating energy poverty
1. Get informed on November 18… and beyond
Visits to construction sites or renovated housing, workshops to save energy, conferences, plays… On November 18, 2025, the 5th edition of the Day Against Energy Poverty will take place throughout France. Complete program available on the website.
For questions throughout the year, the preferred contact remains the town hall or the departmental housing information agency (Adil).
2. Join or create a tenants union
The majority of French people affected by energy poverty are tenants. To encourage private or public landlords to carry out the work necessary for thermal comfort and energy savings, local unions (at the scale of a city) are created almost everywhere in France.
These are brought together by the national Tenants Together movement, which allows for the exchange of information and the coordination of campaigns.
3. Share your DIY skills
Individuals in difficulty can be supervised and supported by professionals or volunteers to carry out work themselves to save energy in their home.
This supported self-rehabilitation system is notably offered by the association of Compagnons builders. If you are a good handyman, you can offer your skills for one to two weeks during a solidarity project. Or run a neighborhood workshop for residents to improve the quality of their housing.
4. Supporting owner-occupiers
Even if financial aid exists, navigating the maquis of files to be put together and then monitoring the work remains difficult. In 2024, out of around 500,000 very modest owner-occupiers of poorly insulated housing, only 1,536 were able to have it renovated! The associations Soliha, Éco Habitat (Caritas network), Habitat et Humanisme and the Housing Foundation are looking for volunteers ready to train in order to support very modest individuals in their renovation projects.
Sources: Éco Habitat, Stop energy exclusion, Companions builders and National Housing Agency.
