The Energy Act 2011 contains a number of provisions which will affect owners and occupiers of property. Probably most significant are the minimum energy standards. From April 2018, the legislative changes would make it unlawful to let residential or commercial properties with an EPC Rating of F or G (i.e. the lowest 2 grades of energy efficiency).

This could have very significant implications for landlords, and for occupiers who wish to assign or sublet space, including:

Marketability of some properties would become impossible unless they were upgraded to meet the minimum standards.

It is estimated that approximately 20% of non-domestic properties could be in the F & G rating brackets.

Rent reviews for properties in this situation could also be affected. .

Given this risk to property owners and occupiers it is clear that a full understanding of the energy efficiency of your property assets should be attained.