From the 6th April 2008, commercial property owners will have to meet the requirement to have an Energy Performance Certificates (E.P.C) in place for sale, rent or construction of large, non-domestic (commercial) buildings in England and Wales.
The Schedule of Enforcement for commercial E.P.C's is as follows:-
- E.P.C will be mandatory on the sale, rent or construction of non-domestic buildings.
- Starting with buildings over 10,000 m² from the 6th April 2008.
- Extended to buildings over 2,500 m² from the 1st July 2008
- Covering all non dwellings from the 1st October 2008.
- Display Energy Certificates (DECs) will be mandatory in buildings occupied by public authorities no later than October 2008.
- Air conditioning inspections will be mandatory no later than January 2009 for plant over 250kw no later than January 2011 for the remainder.
E.P.C's are the first piece of regulation to be enforced. Midland EPC Ltd anticipate they will have an impact on sale and rental prices of commercial buildings, as property occupiers seek to improve their environmental credentials with increasing concern about rising energy costs.
EPCs will not be the only driver for price, but they will give a good indication for the buyer or tenant of the size of their energy bills.
Commercial organisations with 'environment' as a clear driver, will certainly prefer to occupy 'A' or 'B' rated commercial buildings rather than G rated ones.
Fee levels generally depend on the number of separate 'zones' that the building has.
'Zones' can be roughly worked out by the number of rooms/spaces, including toilets, kitchens storerooms etc.
These rooms need to be sub-divided in to further zones if they have differing lighting, heating, ventilation & air-conditioning configurations.
To enquire about how much a Commercial EPC would cost 'click here'
