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Think again! Comments here in the Birmingham Post article Property sales to be probed over energy performance that trading standards officers may be tempted to trawl through the land registry data checking that EPCs have been carried out on commercial property.

Reed Smith commercial property associate Simon Robinson clarified:

“There is a view that they may well use the Land Registry records to find out what transactions have taken place, but no-one really knows how they are going to deal with enforcement issues. It might be that they will do this to show that they have got teeth, although it must be said that the fines - ranging from 500 to 5,000 and linked to the rateable value of the property - are pretty small compared to the cost of providing a certificate in the first place.”

So with the commercial property sector as quiet as its been for 10 years (Source: Property Week magazine, July 2008) the introduction of Commercial EPCs, on top of the financial gloom and doom which shows no sign of evaporating any time soon, its no wonder that their introduction has been less then positively received.

Having spent the bulk of my morning in a repossessed chip and kebab shop I did wonder if the energy rating of this domestic-build poorly maintained building will make any difference to prospective tenants who, owing to the popularity of the location and the only barrier to entry being cash, will already be asked for a lease premium upwards of 20k. Yes it had no loft insulation, it also had no central heating. Plenty of evidence of rodents though, and maggots, and decomposing chicken carcasses. Yep, you bet I get all the glorious jobs to do but I don't mind a bit of it- fascinating to find out talking with another energy assessor about the enormous gaps and differences in the training and assessment process between the various training providers. Needless to say, there has been no joined up thinking in this industry yet, and wow, does it show! Still, whinging never got anything done, time to continue building the Commercial FAQs for our use as we are getting pepppered with all manner of questions from potential and actual clients right now. There is a huge knowledge gap across this new part of the EPBD roll-out and given we've had 6 years to get ready, it scares me to think about how wrong it could go if it were actually something complicated!

Labels: Thinking-of-dodging-Commercial-EPC Birmingham-Post-Property-sales-to-be-probed