Recently, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) confirmed new changes to the law that means from 1st April 2018, it will be unlawful for commercial landlords to lease a private commercial property without a minimum EPC rating of E. This change will only effect new (or renewal) lease agreements from this date, however, from 1st April 2020, it will affect all commercial leased property agreements, both existing and new rentals.
This is one of the latest actions to be introduced by DECC to encourage the implementation of new energy efficiency measures, with the ultimate aim of reducing carbon emissions all over the UK.
Companies that rent commercial properties should be aware of this mandatory requirement to ensure that they are renting a lawful property from 2018/20. Likewise, landlords now have just under two years to review the EPC rating of their buildings and ensure they are compliant to the new standards prior to any new lease agreements (or renewals) after this date.
During this process, landlords should be aware that a solar PV installation has a positive effect on a building’s EPC rating and could be one of the solutions that are considered. For landlords that have limited capital or budgets, a ‘free solar solution’ should be explored through a power purchase agreement.
Landlords that fail to comply with the new legislation will be subject to heavy fines up to £150,000; much higher than the fine for not having an EPC in place at all.
For more details on EPC’s and how solar can help towards increasing your building’s EPC rating, please contact us today for a no-obligation discussion.