EPCs and DECs - More changes ahead

lexology.com - 31st August 2010

Display of energy certificates in commercial premises

Owners of properties that have a total useful floor area of more than 500m2, and are frequently visited by the public, may soon find that they have to display an energy certificate at the relevant property.

The effect of the new Directive is that private bodies, as well as public authorities, now need to consider whether the display of an energy certificate is required. Affected properties include (but are not limited to) shops and shopping centres, supermarkets, restaurants, theatres, banks and hotels.
The Directive only requires the display of an energy certificate where one has already been issued. Unlike the UK legislation, the Directive does not distinguish between EPCs and DECs. However, the fact that a certificate only has to be displayed if it has already been obtained suggests that the requirement will be interpreted in domestic law to apply to EPCs, not DECs (since DECs are currently only held by public authorities). An EPC is most likely to exist (and therefore will have to be displayed) where the property has been newly constructed, or has been sold or let in the last few years.

However, the display of DECs in buildings which are occupied by private organisations, as well as those occupied by public authorities, should not be ruled out. The previous government consulted earlier this year on whether DECs should be extended to apply to commercial buildings. This would mean that, even if a building already has an EPC, a separate DEC would need to be commissioned to comply with this obligation.

DECs must be renewed annually and, as well as the asset rating given on an EPC, must also contain an operational rating, which reflects the actual energy consumption of the building from year to year. This will, of course, be determined by the energy be ha vi our of the occupiers within the building. Where a building is let, the landlord may have little control over how much energy its tenants consume.

The threshold for the display of a DEC by a public authority in a building which is frequently visited by the public will be lowered from 1,000m2 to 500m2. From 9 July 2015 the threshold will drop further to 250m2.