ALL Commercial buildings available for letting or sale require an Energy Performance Certificate and it will be the responsibility of the vendor / landlord to obtain. There will be exceptions such as those buildings with a low energy demand such as an unheated warehouse and off plan sales.
We would be pleased to put clients in touch with and Accredited Energy Assessor, independent of Core Commercial.
Whilst many agents or their clients are not providing EPCs on second hand commercial properties prior to marketing, as required by the legislation, we are finding that it is the purchaser's / ingoing tenant's solicitors that are insisting on EPC's prior to an exchange of contracts. The practical solution is probably to obtain a quotation for an EPC prior to marketing (should one be needed) and commission it as soon as terms are agreed.
EPCs are not required before the construction of a building is completed.
EPC's are NOT required on the sale, rent or construction of the following:
• industrial sites, workshops and non-residential agricultural buildings with low energy demand.
• places of worship;
• temporary buildings with a planned time of use less than 2 years;
• stand alone buildings with a total useful floor area of less than 50m2 (538 sqft) that are not dwellings
If you have a building (with a roof and walls) that uses energy to condition the indoor climate (i.e. has heating, air conditioning or mechanical ventilation) then you will require an EPC when it is sold or let. * see however cold store below.
How much do EPC's cost ?
This will vary dependant upon the individual energy assessor. One of the assessor companies local to our office has provided the following structure which may be a helpful guide:
What happens if I do not have an Energy Performance Certificate?
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. There is a default penalty of £750 where the formula cannot be applied. A formula is used as the costs of producing an EPC for non dwellings are expected tovary according to the size, complexity and use of the building. The EPC will still be required.
How do I get an Energy Performance Certificate?
By law, EPCs can only be produced by an accredited Energy Assessor. The accreditation schemes protect builders, owners, landlords and tenants by making sure Energy Assessors have the appropriate skills to carry out energy assessments, and that EPCs are always of the same high quality.
You can find an accredited Energy Assessor at http://www.ndEPCregister.com or by contacting an accreditation scheme on the Communities and Local Government web site.An agent may also help you locate an assessor. The energy assessor will need to understand the internal layout of the building, how it has been constructed, what it is designed to be used for, the services and lighting and controls used. This is to understand the energy demands of each individual space (zone) in accordance with its designed use. This information is fed into a Government approved software package which will produce your EPC. At the same time recommendations will be produced by the software and reviewed by the assessor with their knowledge of your building to produce a recommendations report to accompany your certificate. All EPCs must be registered and stored in the national register at http://www.ndEPCregister.com with a unique reference number. This must be done by the Energy Assessor in conjunction with their accreditation scheme.
As a seller or landlord you are responsible for ensuring there is an EPC available for the accommodation being sold or let even if an agent or another service organisation is acting on your behalf.
http://www.communities.gov.uk/planningandbuilding/theenvironment/energyperformance/
http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/planningandbuilding/pdf/748603.pdf
FAQ's We have asked our consultants
Does a cold store require an EPC?
Whilst a cold or chill store uses huge amounts of energy, it is our view that an EPC should not be required as the chilling is the industrial process.
If I have an unheated warehouse, what size would require an EPC?
Whilst the legislation looks at the building as a whole, our view would be once the heated office element is greater than 50 sq m (538 sqft), and EPC will be required. A grey area however and subject to interpretation.
If you have any other questions, we would be pleased to provide you with a view.
