If you are selling, renting or building commercial property, you need a Commercial Energy Performance Certificates or EPC.

There are a few exceptions – see ‘circumstances where I don’t need an EPC’ below for details

If a building is split into parts ‘designed or altered to be used as separate accommodation’ the parts may each require their own EPC. The sale and let of commercial buildings can be complex with multiple tenancies and uses.

Whether you need a single or multiple EPCs may depend on the heating systems and your future plans for the building.

See ‘What if I have a building that is subdivided into separate parts’ below, or contact Paramount LPC for free guidance on the most cost effective solution to your buildings EPC requirements.

When is the EPC required?

An EPC should be provided to a prospective buyer or tenant at the earliest opportunity and no later than when a viewing is conducted or when written information is provided about the building. Even if no marketing takes place it must be provided before entering into a contract to sell or let

How long is an EPC valid for?

An EPC is valid for up to 10 years, unless a newer EPC is produced for the property, in which case only the latter is valid.

Are there any circumstances where I don’t need an EPC?

EPCs are not required on construction, sale or rent for:

• places of worship;
• temporary buildings with a planned time of use less than two years;
• stand-alone (entirely detached) buildings with a total useful floor area of less than 50m2 that are not dwellings;
• industrial sites, workshops and non-residential agricultural buildings with low energy demand;
• on sale or rent for buildings due to be demolished

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. The EPC will still be required.

What if I have a building that is subdivided into separate parts?

Selling or letting a building as a whole: You need an EPC for the whole building. If that building has parts designed or altered to be used separately with separate heating systems then it is also permissible to provide EPCs for each of the individual parts, plus an EPC for any communal areas.

Selling of letting part of building, where the building has a common heating system: If a building has a common heating system, then the seller or prospective landlord can prepare an EPC for the whole building or for the individual part designed or altered to be used separately (in which case Communal areas are ignored).

Buildings with separate parts and separate heating systems: An EPC should be prepared (or made available) for each part of a building that is being offered separately for sale or let.  If selling or letting the whole building it is permissible to provide EPCs for each of the individual parts plus an EPC for the conditioned communal areas or provide one EPC for the whole building.

Residential accommodation: Any separate residential accommodation that is self-contained will require its own domestic EPC. Residential space that can only be accessed via commercial premises (i.e. a house with a shop in a downstairs room or a shop with accommodation where the access is through the shop) will be assessed with the commercial premises as a single building