Much has been written about the potential risks to commercial property landlords of the Energy Act 2011 – and the need to ensure the energy efficiency compliance of their properties within a year or face having to remove them from the rental market.
Yet never have we lived in such a fluid and evolving political and legislative climate with Article 50 now invoked and negotiations for our Brexit from the EU about to start in earnest.
Because the UK no longer has to ‘burden itself’ with what some see as ‘EU red tape’, we hear rumours that the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) regulations may ultimately never make it to the statute book.
Whatever happens, property owners would be unwise to ignore them all together – and some of their provisions are sound business practice anyway.
By way of reminder, the Energy Act 2011 made it unlawful from April 2018 to let commercial or residential buildings with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of F or G.
Practical regulations are still in flux, but guidance is available on the Government website.
We would not advise clients to spend money they don’t have to, but equally, effective asset management is about managing risks and maximising returns.
Properties with higher EPC ratings cost less to run and may also appeal to a wider pool of occupiers to whom energy efficiency is important.
In many circumstances, quite simple and cheap solutions help improve a rating and we all should have one eye to the proposed regulations and be ready to respond.
Dan Ballard – Partner
dan.ballard@fishergerman.co.uk