Energy Performance Certificates for business properties

A landlord is responsible for making sure that there is an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) for the building or part of a building designed or altered to be used separately.

An EPC must be provided as early as possible to prospective tenants, ie when viewings are conducted and written information provided, but definitely before the contract is signed. This applies even if an agent or other service organisation represents them or actually provides the EPC to the prospective tenants. Landlords should therefore make sure that their agents are meeting their duties.

The number and type of EPCs will depend on various criteria, such as whether you are letting an office block floor by floor, a number of floors, or only part of a floor.

Other criteria to consider are whether:

• office blocks and mixed use buildings have a common heating system or two or more heating systems
• shops with dwellings above have separate access and no common parts or shared common access

For example, you:

• can have an EPC for the whole building if that building has a common heating system - this EPC may subsequently be used for any part of the building offered separately for let
• should prepare an EPC for each part of a building that is being offered separately for let, where the heating systems are separate - these individual EPCs should reflect the services in the parts being offered for let including a portion of the energy consumption of any common areas that exist solely or mainly for access to the part being let
• can prepare an EPC for a whole building if you are letting it as a whole, even if it has parts designed or altered to be used separately with separate heating systems - this EPC could not then be used if a separate part of the building was subsequently offered for let

For information on building use, tenancy arrangement and the requirements for EPCs, you can download a guide to EPCs for the construction, sale and let of business premises (PDF, 747K).