With energy costs soaring, it makes sense for commercial property landlords to improve the environmental performance and energy efficiency of their buildings.
It has long been the case in the past that the likes of office blocks were not designed for long life and when infrastructure or facilities started to fail, landlords turned to demolition over refurbishment.
Retrofitting
Reversing a trend for ‘knock it down and start again’, the climate crisis is encouraging developers to rethink and look at retrofitting older buildings and bringing them up to the required standards.
From 2025, every commercial building in the UK will require an energy performance certificate (EPC) which rates its energy efficiency from grade A to G.
The Government is seeking to strengthen these standards and has proposed that all commercial properties being let have a minimum EPC rating of at least ‘B’ by 2030 with the possibility of a requirement of level ‘C’ by 2027. Buildings which fail to meet these new standards would require owners and landlords of commercial buildings to upgrade their stock.
Emissions impact
There are many ways of making a building more energy efficient, through fitting energy-efficient lighting, better insulation and more efficient heating systems and heating systems.
Larger projects could include the fitting of solar panels or even wind turbines, but there could be complications where tenants are in place.
Complicated
If they have a short-term lease, they may not wish to incur any possible extra rental or other costs without being able to benefit in the longer term through lower heating and utility costs.
Repair and maintenance for a commercial lease is a complicated subject for landlords and tenants so seeking professional advice is vital.
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