Note: This is a general guide for UK commercial property owners and professionals. Non-domestic EPC regulations, registers and processes differ across England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Always check the current position on GOV.UK and the relevant national register before acting on any specific matter.
The seller's duty
The seller must commission a valid EPC before the building is put on the market and make it available free of charge to prospective buyers. The energy rating must appear in any written particulars where they are produced.
Where it bites in practice
Buyers' solicitors raise the EPC in pre-contract enquiries almost universally, and a missing or expired certificate is a routine cause of delay near exchange. Institutional buyers increasingly treat a sub-C rating as a pricing point because of MEES exposure over the hold period.
Getting ahead of it
Commission the assessment at the same time as the sales pack. If the building is likely to rate poorly, the recommendation report gives you a costed improvement narrative to present alongside the certificate rather than leaving the buyer to assume the worst.
Next steps
If you'd like specific advice about a property or portfolio, request a quote and our in-house assessors will come back to you.