Making good decisions regarding Commercial Energy Performance Assessors requires us to balance the seemingly diametric forces of emotion and rationality. We should be able to forecast the future, accurately perceive the current situation, have intelligence on the minds of others and deal with indecision.

Subject to some prescribed exemptions Part 3 of the Principal 2015 Regulations states that a landlord must not grant a new tenancy (including a renewal tenancy) of a property after 1 April 2018 or continue to let any property after 1 April 2023 where the property has an EPC Rating of F or G. If you're not moving home, an EPC certificate could also help you with a range of energy-efficient ideas for your home. Even if you rent, you could still try some of the smaller ideas, such as draught-proofing. EPC certificates are valid for 10 years from the date the report is produced. Energy Performance Certificates can cost anywhere up to £120 (though the price can be much lower). Shop around to get the best deal – which you’ll often find by going direct to a domestic energy assessor, rather than via an estate agent. An EPC is required for all privately rented residential accommodation, except where individual tenants of a shared house have separate tenancy agreements. These properties do not require an EPC. How do EPCs work? An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) sets out the energy efficiency grade of a commercial building. Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) are required when a commercial building over 50m2is built, sold or rented. There are two grades of buildings under the EPC requirements which relate to the complexity of the building being assessed and will affect the type of EPC assessor you will need.



EPCs are usually valid for 10 years from the date of issue. Owners of some larger public buildings, for example, colleges and museums, are required to display the EPC on the premises. If you are renting your property and the EPC returns a rating of F or below (G), the law says you must carry out the recommended works to a cost of up to £3,500 (inclusive of VAT). The government has pledged to increase the minimum EPC score to C for privately rented homes by 2030. Back in 1996, 39% of rental properties had an F or G rating, so the introduction of the EPC rating system contributed to a massive overall improvement. By 2016 the figure was 7%, and now we stand at 6.3%. Because of the urgent carbon emissions timeline, the government says this means there are up to 285,000 properties in need of urgent work. A commercial EPC assessor will need access to the entirety of the property in order to properly measure the property, so please ensure that they have access to all areas. Next, they will then examine the key items in the property such as any heating and cooling systems, the presence and levels of the insulation, the type of glazing and material of the window frames, as well as the hot water and lighting systems. After completion of the survey, your assessor will upload the data into a program which calculates the current level of energy efficiency. This program also then generates the potential efficiency rating of the property. A service such as a commercial epc is an invaluable asset in the heady world of business.

Understanding Mees Regulations Commercial Property

If you can, plan for the longer term. The Government has made clear that they are keen to introduce ambitious energy efficiency targets. The 2020 Energy white paper indicated that all commercial properties would be required to achieve an EPC rating of at least B by 2030. Landlords should be looking for a commercial building with at lease the minimum EPC rating of at least E or above. Purchasing a property with a lower EPC rating than E could lead to difficulties in leasing the property out with the new UK Law is enforced in April 2023. If you are an existing landlord, leases should be reviewed to check whether works can be carried out to improve the EPC rating and whether the costs of improvement can be passed to the tenant. Whenever a property is put up for sale or is being prepared to be let to tenants, the responsible party, i.e. the property owner, landlord or responsible agent will need an EPC prior to putting the property on the market. Newly constructed properties also require an EPC. However, when a property is newly constructed, a SAP assessment will need to be carried out and an EPC obtained, much in the same way that air tightness and sound tests must be carried out prior to any sale or rentals. As of the 1st April 2012, you’ll also need an Energy Performance Certificate of band D or higher if you want to have solar panels installed in your home and receive the standard rate from the Feed-in Tariff. If your property is below band D when you first apply for the Feed-in Tariff you will receive a lower rate, which will remain the case even if you improve your home’s energy performance at a later date. The Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard (MEES) which came into force in England and Wales on 1 April 2018, applies to private rented residential and non-domestic property and is aimed at encouraging landlords and property owners to improve the energy efficiency of their properties by a restriction on the granting and continuation of existing tenancies where the property has an Energy Performance Certificate Rating of F and G. An understanding of the challenges met by non domestic epc register can enhance the value of a project.

The required standards for energy efficiency are in flux. The government's 2020 Energy White Paper, Powering our net zero future, revealed its intention that all rented commercial buildings should achieve an EPC rating of 'C' by 2027, and an EPC 'B' rating by 2030. The change is estimated to affect around 85% of the UK's commercial rented stock, equating to around one million properties. A property can be legal to market as soon as an EPC is booked so there is no need to worry about having to wait for the assessment to be completed and the certificate in your hands. As long as you have proof of booking you are set to go to market instantly. An EPC assessment usually takes around 30-45 minutes depending on the shape and size of the property. It is a non-intrusive inspection but I will need access to the heating systems such as the boiler and also the hot water tank (if the home has one). Access to the loft space if the property has a pitched roof with loft insulation is required for a visual inspection of the insulation depth. I will need to take a number of photographs of the key energy features of the property internally and externally for audit purposes only. Energy performance Certificates are a mandatory requirement for anyone selling or letting out a property An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) provides information on a property’s energy use and to give an indication of the typical energy costs. It’s something that must be provided when a property is built, sold or rented. The recommendations on an EPC are a list of improvements you can carry out to make your home more energy efficient. They are listed in order of importance and the number of recommendations will vary depending on the property. You may be asking yourself how does a mees regulations fit into all of this?

Helping Lower Greenhouse Gases

During a commercial EPC assessment the energy assessor will collect information about the building. This will include plans, dimensions of the building, its purpose, the number of floors, the amount and type of glazing (i.e. single or double glazing), the heating systems and the fuel used. This information will be fed into an approved software programme using a Government approved energy assessment method. The software produces the certificate and the recommendation report for the building. Commercial buildings are divided into three different categories, each with their own level of EPC: Level 3, 4 or 5. The different levels are defined by the complexity of the building and the sophistication of the heating and ventilation systems. Energy assessors will need to be qualified for the type of building being assessed. An EPC will offer measures for improving the energy efficiency rating and tell you how much these will cost to install, and how much they will save you per year. Energy Performance Certificates are important because they allow prospective buyers and tenants to access the energy efficiency of a building before deciding whether they want to live in such a property. EPCs are also important because they give suggestions on how to make a building more energy- efficient thus reducing the energy usage of that building. If you’re considering making the switch from fossil fuel technology to more efficient, cleaner, renewable energy technology, having a valid EPC is a must. An EPC is a legal requirement for any property being sold, let or constructed in England and Wales and is valid for 10 years. Research around mees remains patchy at times.

The action of selling, renting or construction of a commercial building, triggers the need for an energy performance certificate. An EPC is not required for an existing tenancy. Around half of UK homes currently have an EPC rating of D. Improving your home’s EPC rating can increase it’s asking price by an average of 6% – there are regional variations, though, and EPCs have less influence on prices in the South East, as demand for houses is so high here. When you purchase a new appliance it always has a coloured sticker on it telling you how energy efficient the appliance is. This is the case for buildings. Each has an EPC rating from A, the most efficient, to G, the least efficient. The rating lets you know how costly it is to both warm up and cool down your home. There are a number of things to look out for before buying or renting properties. One of which is the energy performance certificate, known as the EPC. It contains valuable information for the owner as well as the buyer/tenant. The energy performance certificate is an important piece of information as they show how energy efficient a property is. With the current increase in energy prices and climate change, the EPC seems more essential than ever. An EPC certificate itself comes as a four-page document, though when potential buyers or renters are viewing a property, it’s likely that the estate agent will initially just show you the rating graph rather than the whole document. The document runs through the estimated energy cost over three years if you were to leave the property as it is, and how much money you could save if you were to improve its efficiency. It’s worth noting that these costs are just for the heating, hot water and lighting and not other electrical appliances. Can a epc commercial property solve the problems that are inherent in this situation?

Typical New Build Rating

A Commercial Energy Performance Certificate is required at the point of marketing and should be made available to the applicant at the earliest opportunity. It is also required when the lease is renewed. It is usually done when the property is being let or sold and is valid for 10 years unless the thermal elements are changed. e.g. if double glazing is changed or the boiler is updated to a better model. An approved energy assessor will log the data generated from the assessment on to a national register. This is the only place EPC data can be stored. It is also only valid once the data is entered into the register and given a reference number per data set. Once logged on to the database the energy assessor must provide the selling party or landlord with the EPC. The responsibility of ensuring an EPC is obtained falls on the property owner or landlord. The tenants of a rented property are not responsible for providing and paying for them. If the property is managed by an agent, the likelihood is that they will take care of all aspect of the EPC and arrange an assessment. It is important that EPC legislation is adhered to as enforced by the Trading Standards Department of the Local Authority of the property in question. Find extra information regarding Commercial Energy Performance Assessors on this UK Government Publications article.

Related Articles:

Supplementary Findings With Regard To Commercial Energy Performance...
Further Information About Commercial and Domestic EPC Assessors
''>Further Information About Professionally Qualified Domestic E...
''>Extra Findings With Regard To Low Carbon Energy Assessors
''>Additional Findings On Accredited Commercial Energy Assessors
More Background Findings With Regard To Commercial and Domestic EPC...
Additional Insight On Non-Domestic EPC Contractors