Energy Performance Certificates for Commercial

Buildings (Non-dwellings)

Under the EPBD EU Directive 2002/91/EC, From 1 October 2008 virtually all owners of commercial properties will be required by law to provide an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) for all buildings or parts of buildings when they are made available for sale or rental. Those carrying out the construction of a building will be required to provide an EPC to the owner and to notify Building Control.

What is a Commercial Building EPC?

A Commercial Energy Performance Certificate provides a summary to prospective buyers or tenants of the energy efficiency and carbon emissions of a building. Please see an example here. This certificate must be made available to prospective occupiers. The Certificate is accompanied by a detailed Recommendations Report which outlines improvements that may be made to the building and its services. These are designed to improve its energy efficiency and reduce fuel costs, thereby increasing the value of the building and its attraction to prospective occupiers. The recommendations are ranked in order of their potential cost/benefit.

The Energy Performance Certificate should be available by the time marketing or viewings take place and confirmation that it has been provided will almost certainly be requested by the Solicitors acting for the Purchaser or incoming Tenant. The EPC on a non-domestic building is then valid for 10 years but would need to be made available to any subsequent tenants or purchasers during that time. Under the current regulations, an EPC is not required for lease renewals.

Who is responsible for obtaining the EPC?

As a seller or landlord you are responsible for ensuring that an EPC is available for the property being sold, let or sub-let. You should therefore ensure any agents acting on your behalf are complying with the Regulations.

The penalty for failing to make an EPC available to any prospective buyer or tenant when selling or letting non-dwellings is fixed, in most cases, at 12.5% of the rateable value of the building, subject to a minimum penalty of £500 and a maximum of £5,000 per instance (penalties are repeated for each instance of breach) and the EPC will then still need to be obtained and paid for.

How can Property Reports Associates help?

PRA Ltd is a well established company with a knowledgeable team of specialists ready to assist you or your managing agents. We can offer advice, conduct site visits and arrange the provision of EPCs for any type of commercial building. We are also able to develop a planned programme of EPCs for property portfolios, ensuring that certificates are in place in advance, for buildings that are due to become vacant. Where the EPC recommends improvements, we are able to assist in the implementation of these.

Our Commercial Energy Assessors are highly qualified and appropriately accredited Surveyors as required under the regulations. This ensures that they have the necessary skills to carry out assessments professionally and that our EPCs and reports are always of the same high quality, regardless of the size or complexity of the building.

The Energy Assessor will need to have access to all areas of your buildings and the details of the structure and services in order to understand the layout of the building, its construction and its energy demands. Any floor plans, drawings and details of heating and air-conditioning plant or equipment that can be made available in advance would be most useful.

The information and data collected by the Assessor is then input into a Government approved software package which produces the EPC and Recommendations Report. These are supplied to you both electronically and as a printed bound copy, with the EPC then registered on the National Register, as required under the regulations. As the landlord or vendor of the property, you are then in complete compliance with the Regulations.

Does your building need an EPC?

The sale and let of commercial buildings can be complex, with floors let to different tenants, and with a mixture of retail, office, industrial and residential accommodation. There are various rules and exemptions covering the size, use and layout of some buildings and the nature of the heating and ventilation systems in use. We can assist with any queries that you may have and establish the regulations as they apply to you and your property. Please contact us for further information.

What will the EPC cost?

The costs of producing an EPC for commercial buildings will vary according to the size, complexity and use of the building. Please contact us with the location, size and type of building for which you require an EPC, and we will be able to give you a competitive estimate. Once we have been able to establish more details we will provide a formal quote and contract.

Other Legal Implications of Energy Performance Certificates

It is possible that amendments to existing leases may be required or advisable in order to allow landlords to recover the costs of providing EPCs (and carrying out any recommended improvements), via service charges to tenants. This is particularly applicable where buildings have multiple occupants and the requirement for an EPC for the whole building may be triggered by a vacancy in a single part. PRA work closely with one of South Manchester’s leading firms of commercial property solicitors and we are pleased to introduce clients who may wish to benefit from their expertise in this area of the law.