Commercial rental property: landlord and tenant responsibilities

All owners of existing non-domestic premises are obliged to provide prospective buyers or tenants with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). This also applies to anyone building a new non-domestic property.

The EPC provides information on energy efficiency using A-G ratings. It also includes recommendations for improvement in energy efficiency. Acting on the recommendations can help you cut energy consumption, save money on bills and help reduce carbon emissions.

See Energy Performance Certificates for business properties.

Air conditioning

If your commercial property has air conditioning systems you should ensure they are well maintained so that they don't consume too much energy or leak hazardous substances. See F gases and ozone-depleting substances.

The tenant or landlord or managing agent may be legally required to have the air conditioning system inspected regularly by a qualified engineer or energy assessor. Air conditioning inspections.

Boilers and space heating systems

The efficiency of your boiler has a big impact on the overall energy efficiency of a building. See checking boiler efficiency. If the capacity of your heating and hot water system is more than 20 kilowatts and it is more than 15 years old, you should get a heating engineer to assess it.

Improvements that may be recommended include:

• improved heating and hot water system controls such as thermostats, zone controls and sequencing controls
• improved insulation (where this is cost-effective) for boilers, water heaters, piping, hot water storage tanks and ductwork on hot air distribution systems
• installing renewable energy supply systems

You should get a heating system assessment every two to four years. See energy assessments for heating and hot water systems.