FROM April 1, 2018 new energy efficiency regulations for commercial buildings in the UK will come into effect – but it seems many landlords are not ready for it!

From April all non-domestic UK property cannot be let unless it obtains an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) with a minimum rating of E – MEES (Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards). If a property fails to meet the minimum standard, measures must be put in place to identify relevant energy efficiency improvements.

These improvements must be implemented before the property can be let, even if the EPC rating does not improve. Additionally, in many cases, there will be a financial cost to compliance and this should be understood and considered in the context of rental valuations at rent review and lease renewal.

Consultants arbnco reckon many a fifth of commercial properties’ energy efficiency standards have fallen ahead of the new legislation

arbnco is a building energy simulation company concentrating on developing disruptive proprietary technology solutions that could change the built environment. Using their software they ran a re-simulation on the 3,620 buildings currently registered with arbnco’s EPC platform. The software calculates the energy required to heat, ventilate, cool and light a commercial property over a single year.

Director of arbnco, Simon West, stated: “MEES has been on the horizon for a long time now but the statistics from our re-simulation tell us that some commercial real estate investors and subsequent stakeholders are still not heeding the warning. Those who are in the ‘F’ and ‘G’ categories have less than two months to ensure compliance or else risk impacting the capital value of their assets.”

Landlords need to start to pay attentiona nd take action. to imrove the energy efficiency of their property portfolio.

Picture of ‘Old’ Presto Tools Building, Penistone Road, Sheffield, © Copyright Terry Robinson and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.