EPC on construction (Northern Ireland, commercial): new non-domestic buildings need an EPC within 5 days
What a developer of new shops, offices, workshops and other non-domestic buildings in Northern Ireland must do about energy performance certificates (EPCs), including the 5-day deadline, exclusions, display in large public buildings, rateable-value based penalty charges, and sale and rent duties.
If you construct a new shop, office, warehouse, workshop or other non-domestic building in Northern Ireland, regulation 6 of the Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008 (SR 2008/170) requires you to give the owner an energy performance certificate (EPC) not more than 5 days after the work is completed. The same rule applies where a building is changed so that the number of parts designed for separate use changes and fixed services for heating, hot water, air-conditioning or mechanical ventilation are provided or extended.
The duty applies even to buildings that are outside the Building Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012, other than those exempt by regulation 4(2)(b) and (c) of those Regulations.
- Deadline
- Give the owner an EPC not more than 5 days after the work is completed (regulation 6(2))
- Buildings outside the regime
- Places of worship, temporary buildings planned for 2 years or less, industrial sites, workshops and non-residential agricultural buildings with low energy demand, stand-alone buildings under 50 square metres that are not dwellings, and some agricultural buildings covered by a national sectoral agreement (regulation 4)
- Calculation for a non-domestic building
- The Simplified Building Energy Model (SBEM) or a Dynamic Simulation Model (regulation 2). The certificate shows the asset rating
- Who issues it
- An energy assessor who is a member of an approved accreditation scheme and accredited for that category of building (regulations 8(1)(d) and 19)
- Registration
- The assessor must enter the certificate and its data on the register before handing it over. It gets a unique reference number and is kept for at least 20 years (regulation 25)
- Validity
- Valid if the issue date is not more than 10 years old and no newer EPC has been obtained (regulation 8(3))
- Display
- The occupier of a non-dwelling with a total useful floor area over 500 square metres that is frequently visited by the public must display a valid EPC in a prominent place (regulation 8A). Penalty £500
- Penalty charge
- For a non-dwelling, 12.5% of the net annual value of the rated property, at least £500 and at most £5,000, or £750 where the building has no separate rating entry (regulation 35(2) and (3)). Notice within 6 months of the breach
- Review and appeal
- Ask the council to review within the period in the notice (at least 28 days). If the charge is confirmed, appeal to the county court within 28 days (regulations 33, 36 and 37)
- Enforced by
- The district council for the district, and the Department where the duty is enforceable against a district council (regulation 31)
What you must do
- Check the building is covered by the regime, using the exclusions in regulation 4.
- Appoint an accredited non-domestic energy assessor before completion. The assessor calculates the asset rating with SBEM or a dynamic simulation model and registers the certificate.
- Give the EPC to the owner within 5 days of completion. Build the handover into your completion checklist.
- When the building is sold or let, use the EPC. Make sure a valid EPC has been issued before it is made available for sale or rent, show it free of charge to any prospective buyer or tenant when they first enquire, and give a copy to the buyer or tenant (regulation 5).
- Advertise the rating. Any advertisement for sale or rent in commercial media must state the energy performance indicator, expressed A+ to G (regulation 5A).
- Display it if the building is large and visited by the public. The occupier has the display duty.
An EPC does not have to be shown or given to a buyer or tenant before construction is complete (regulation 4(2)), and the owner of a building that is to be demolished or majorly renovated after the sale or rent does not have to provide an EPC (regulation 5(4)).