With less than a year to go before commercial buildings will be expected to comply with tough new energy performance criteria, Bruton Knowles has stepped up efforts to ensure clients are preparing their portfolios for EPC Day.

Charlotte Williams from the firm’s Guildford office said the new regulations come into force on April 1 2018 with both commercial and residential EPCs within the private rental sector being set at E.

The regulations will apply when you grant a new tenancy to a new tenant or grant a tenancy to an existing tenant. After April 1 2020 the regulations will apply to all privately rented property.

She said: “From next April it will not be possible to grant a new lease to a new tenant or renew a lease with an existing tenant unless the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) has a minimum rating of E.

“The EPC regulation changes are mainly about the energy efficiency rating of buildings and mean that a rating of F or G could potentially cause problems.”

A significant proportion of the building stock will be affected by these regulations.

“In addition to the potential impact on otherwise straightforward tenancy agreements,   local councils will be able to impose fines if a unit is not up to standard – and we are anticipating many local authorities will be keen on enforcing the regulations as they will retain revenue from defaulters.”

Charlotte said landlords need to be reviewing their asset schedules to identify the properties with a EPC rating of F&G and ensure adequate time is allowed for all to bring properties up to scratch.

For further information contact Charlotte Williams on 01483 238380 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.