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The Cost of EPC's
The debate about the validity of energy performance certificates for commercial properties rumbles on as we enter March 2010 – almost 2 years after it became a legislative requirement for the sale or lease of commercial buildings and yet conservative estimates consider that over 75% of the commercial property currently on the market is without a valid epc.
The first thing to ask is why is the legislation being so blatantly ignored? And you don’t have to look too far to find the answer.
The legislation came into effect in April 2008 for some commercial property and by January 1st 2009 the legislation applied to all commercial property that was on the market or coming to market. If we look back at when the economic crisis struck then we can see that the two problems are linked. Taking the landlord or commercial property owners perspective and suddenly finding yourself with a number of voids, having to reduce rents to retain tenants, losing tenants who are going bankrupt and then having to comply with new legislation requiring you to have an energy assessment undertaken at some cost before marketing your property - it is no wonder that landlords and property owners were prepared to take the risk of waiting until a sale or lease is agreed.
This was a new industry and together with those people anxious to carve out a new career and invest in themselves it also attracted the less than honourable individual who saw this as an easy way to earn money.
Soon there were hundreds of assessors out there, some qualified and some not and the industry realised that there were problems.
We also saw the advent of agencies springing up offering fast turnaround and very cheap pricing. In itself there is nothing wrong with this – after all we operate in a market economy and if you can buy a product or service cheaper elsewhere then that is what you can choose to do. However the flaws were starting to appear on various web site forums – it seemed once again that not every energy assessor was qualified to undertake the survey and some “assessors” were not even turning up to survey the property.
Part of the job of the energy assessor is to visit the property, in that way the assessor can better understand the building, its fabric, its HVAC systems and then an accurate assessment can be produced.
The qualified commercial property energy assessor will do a good job, it is the others you have to wary of and if you are using an agency to undertake your energy assessments make sure that the person they send is qualified – don’t be afraid to ask to see their accreditation, they should have it with them.
So the situation in these harsh financial times is that landlords and property owners have been reluctant to have an energy assessment undertaken as they have been afraid of the cost and they are not really convinced that it will be done properly. However by ignoring the problem the property owner and landlord is leaving themselves open to the potential of being fined for non compliance by the local Trading Standards Office, and fines can range for £500 to £5000.
Here at CEAUK we are all qualified to Level 4 and we take pride in the work we do, working in conjunction with a variety of property professionals our reputation is something we work hard to maintain. We operate a fast turnaround policy on assessments, our clients appreciate the service we provide and that ensures the continued sucess of our company.
If you want to be certain that your energy assessment is professionally undertaken, and more importantly is correct, then please contact our offices on 0870 770 8747 or email using the attached form and we will be pleased to assist.
Labels: CEAUK, commercial energy performance certificate, commercial epc, energy performance certificate, Grade II listed commercial property energy assessors, non domestic epc, trading standards fines
Copenhagen Climate Summit – How does it effect my commercial premises?
Ahead of the summit in Copenhagen there have been calls on the government to ensure that lighting and heating controls become standard across all 1.8m UK commercial properties in the UK within the next ten years. In some instances there are calls for greater improved glazing and heating to further reduce carbon emissions.
In many instances these are seen as costs that landlords can ill afford in these less than buoyant times.
What tends to be overlooked though is that improvements to the heating, lighting and energy comsumption of a building can sometimes be achieved at little cost. Simply switching your lighting from standard fluorescent tubes to more energy efficient lighting can be relatively inexpensive and it can make a considerable saving in the amount of energy used which could have a positive impact on the energy rating of the property.
We are not suggesting for a minute that by effecting such a change will suddenly find you a tenant or achieve a sale of the property ; but it may just make a prospective tenant / purchaser think twice about your property and the fact that the running costs are less than other properties under consideration, which in turn will provide the new tenant / owner with greater profits and may achieve an earlier deal for you.
Every commercial energy performance certificate completed on commercial properties will have a supplemental recommendations report (if it does not - then question whether you have a valid report). This recommendations report provides a range of suggestions as to how the energy efficiency of a building can be improved. It will encompass all aspects of the buildings use of energy and whilst some of the recommendations may take some considerable time to be cost effective there are, as mentioned, other more cost effective recommendations that can be implemented almost immediately.
Some landlords / property owners perceive this as a problem. What is the point of paying for an epc that identifies where savings can be made but then requires another epc that will rate the property with the improved energy efficiency actions taken. Here at CEAUK we are able to produce an epc for a commercial property with suggested recommendations and once some or all of the recommendations have been implemented produce the epc showing the improved rating.
To ensure that you are best placed to find a tenant or sell your commercial property then contact us today on 0870 770 8747 to see how we can help you.
Labels: commercial energy performance certificate, commercial property, energy assessment costs, energy efficiency
How to save money on a Commercial EPC
Since legislation was introduced requiring any commercial property that is to be marketed for lease or sale to have a valid energy performance certificate there has been much confusion. We here at CEAUK have tried to clarify the legislation and we like to think that we provide not just an excellent service but also a highly competitive one.
Recently we were asked to undertake a commercial epc on a property in Manchester and we were told that we would be competing against two other companies in terms of pricing and delivery – basically the client wanted the best price and the quickest turnaround and we decided to provide a quote.
That evening before going home I was just checking through a couple of properties that we had lodged commercial epc’s on in the week and in error I entered the address details of the property that we were about to quote on and found out something that would be of interest to the owners.
The next day we contacted the owners and their agent for this property in Manchester, a few questions about any works that had been done to the property revealed that no works had been undertaken for a number of years. We were then able to advise them a commercial epc had been undertaken and lodged on the premises some two months ago and there was actually no need for another epc.
We were about to quote £455 for this particular assessment, income now lost, on the plus side though – the landlord was impressed with our honesty and gave us another property to assess and it now looks like we are going to be his preferred agent in these matters.
It transpires that despite what we tell everyone about epc’s that there is still some confusion so if this is the case for you then please feel free to either call or e-mail us with your query or request for a quotation.
In this instance the landlord thought that because the property was withdrawn and then placed back on the market then a new epc would be required. As there had been no works done to the property in between times then no epc was required as one already existed. Why hadn't he gone back to the original epc suppliers to ask for a price? - they had charged him in excess of £650 which he thought was excessive.
By the way the other two companies that were invited to quote, according to the landlord one came in at £425 and the other at £565 but neither had picked up on the fact that an epc already existed.
We might not be the cheapest but we are the fairest. Labels: commercial energy performance certificate, commercial epc, commercial property energy assesment, save money on a commercial epc, selling or leasing commercial property
To EPC or Not?
It would seem that the legal requirement for energy performance certificates for commercial properties is not, at present, seen by all as a requirement. Over the last few months we have been actively looking at commercial properties for sale or for lease throughout the country, asking commercial agents not just for sales or rental details but also for copies of the energy performance certificates that should accompany the marketing details. Surprisingly few of the agents we have approached have the information available, many agents preferring to wait for a purchaser or tenant for the commercial property before instructing an epc to be undertaken. The logic seems to be that this is saving their landlord clients costs when in fact what they are actually doing is exposing their landlord clients to the possibility of fines. Since January of this year legislation has meant that any commercial property for sale or lease has to have a commercial energy performance certificate. It seems that this legislation is being overlooked by commercial agents and commercial property owners who only take action once there is a potential end user for the property. This is going to create a problem, Trading Standards Officers are responsible for ensuring that the legislation is enforced and if it is noted that a commercial property is for sale or lease without the appropriate certificate then Trading Standards have the power to levy fines. This is a situation that no-one wants to see arising, it is in landlords best interests to ensure that they have an epc in place, after all it is valid for upto ten years and having an epc on a property will ensure that the landlord does not incur additional punitive fines and costs. In fact both the landlord and agent may find it useful to have on file so that when the potential tenant or buyer's solicitor requets a copy it is already to hand rather than having to wait for one to be completed, no-one wants to lose a sale in the present market because some paperwork isn't in place. For further information please contact our offices. Labels: commercial energy performance certificate, commercial epc, energy efficiency, Grade II listed commercial property energy assessors
How it is possible to save money with an epc
Commercial Energy Performance Certificates still seem to be wildly mis-understood, many people see these as an unnecessary expense when it comes to selling or leasing a commercial property and we would be the first to admit that there is an expense involved – but that expense is one that can lead to considerable savings. The Energy Performance Certificate provides a rating for the property as it currently stands, it is an assessment of the heating and ventilation systems, the building fabric, glazing, lighting and source of energy. The building is then zoned as each room will have a different function and as a result of this the heating and lighting it uses will be different for each room / area. For example a warehouse will have a markedly different construction from an office block, the warehouse will have large vehicle doors compared to the personnel doors found in most offices. The heating for each in these areas will be different, you don’t normally find huge space heaters hanging from the ceilings of offices as you would in a warehouse. So you might expect that the warehouse was less energy efficient and that the heating bills were going to be substantially more however this is not necessarily so. How many times have you visited offices only to find that the heating is on and the windows wide open, not only is this adding to greenhouse gases by needlessly wasting fuel but the tenant/ landlords heating costs will be spiralling upwards, especially with the cost of fuel today. In this example it might be that the installation of thermostatic radiator valves would keep the room temperature at a comfortable level – and these can be bought and fitted relatively cheaply making long term savings that far outweigh the cost of a commercial property energy certificate. The energy assessment of a building identifies these obvious and less obvious potential savings and this is where landlords and tenants can save money and if it saves money then that surely has to be a good thing. Telephone our offices today on 0870 770 8747 to see how an energy performance certificate from CEAUK may be able to help save you costs and probably not cost as much as you think. Labels: commercial energy performance certificate, commercial epc, energy efficiency, energy performance certificate
The Storey Institute, Meeting House Lane, Lancaster.
Set in the heart of Lancaster’s Conservation Area the Storey Institute is a Grade II Listed building. For over 100 years this building has been central to the educational and social life of the people of Lancaster, its early days saw it used as an art gallery and a technical and art school, it has been a museum and library, it was here in 1907 that the Lancaster Girls School was founded and today it is set to enjoy a new lease of life. Having recently undergone a multi million pound refurbishment the Storey Institute will now offer workspace and offices along with workshop space to those in the creative industries, it will be a conference and auditorium venue, art gallery and meeting place restoring this important building to its rightful place as an leading creative centre here in the heart of Lancaster.
The refurbishment has taken into account the architectural features of the building and its sympathetic restoration has transformed it from a large, cold and unwelcoming building into an energy efficient and comfortable place to work and relax.
To ensure that energy costs are kept to a minimum the building uses the latest in lighting, heating and cooling technology, the specification was strict and we here at CEAUK were selected to provide the building with a commercial energy performance certificate.
Together with CEAUK , BaddeleysEnergy.com were involved in providing the energy assessment rating for this building. The task involved the zoning of the whole building and calculating not just the thermal values of the original structure but also the heating and ventilating systems that were used in each of the areas. The latest energy efficient boilers and air conditioning systems have been used together with some clever air handling units that ensure that this will be a comfortable building to work in.
It is testament to both CEAUK and BaddeleysEnergy.com, their working practices, the level of qualification and efficiency of the service that they provide that they were selected for the energy assessment of this landmark building. To see how we can help you comply with the current legislation in respect of commercial energy performance certificates you should contact us as soon as possible. Telephone 0870 770 8747 or e-mail survey@ceauk.co.ukLabels: commercial energy performance certificate, Grade II listed commercial property energy assessors
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