COMMERCIAL Energy Performance Certificate

By law Energy Performance Certificates are required for most non-domestic commercial buildings being sold, rented or constructed. Buildings being modified and resulting in the addition or removal of parts of the building and also buildings having Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems installed or modified may also require an EPC.

On construction – The constructor gives the Energy Performance Certificate and Recommendations Report to the Purchaser on physical completion of the building and notifies Building Control, who will not issue a Certificate of Completion until the EPC is provided.

For sale or rent – As soon as the building is offered for sale or rent the seller or landlord must make an EPC available to prospective buyers or tenants. The Energy Performance Certificate may be for the whole building or individual units and completion of contract should not happen without it.

On modification – The contractor undertaking modification work is responsible for providing an Energy Performance Certificate and Recommendations Report to the client. They must then notify Building Control who will not issue the Certificate of Completion until the EPC is provided.

The maximum penalty for non-compliance is currently £5k which is enforceable by Trading Standards. The penalty notice also includes the requirement to produce a valid EPC.

Exemptions

Exemptions to the requirement for an EPC are:

·         Places of worship

·         Temporary buildings in use for less than two years, e.g. site offices

·         Low energy demand buildings such as agricultural buildings, e.g. barns

·         Stand alone buildings less than 50m2, e.g. sheds and summer houses

The certificate is being phased in from:

·         April 6 2008 when buildings with a total floor area of more than 10,000sq m required one.

·         July 1 2008, this extends to buildings with a total floor area greater than 2,500sq m.

·         1 October 2008 all remaining commercial buildings will require an EPC on sale, rental or upon construction.

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