A leading property consultancy has calculated that 130,000 commercial properties across England and Wales face becoming obsolete with values effectively being wiped in a number of days as the Government’s commercial EPC targets take effect.
Rapleys warns that from 1 April 2023, any commercial property that doesn’t meet exemptions will be unable to be “continue to let” as EPCs of F & G will be considered “substandard”.
As a result of the tightened Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES), the company believes that there are around 130,000 properties on the register that are below the required standard of EPC E rating which equates to 93 million sq m of commercial real estate in England and Wales alone.
Based on an average upgrade cost of £150 per sq m for basic energy upgrade work that would nudge a certificate to only an E or D rating, this alone means an estimated cost of £1.395 billion, which will rise significantly as higher certificate bandings are aimed for/required.
London’s problem
The extent of the challenge is well-documented. Back in February, we reported here on our Priva UK blog pages that a study by BNP Paribas Real Estate has found that up to 8% of existing inner London commercial stock could be rendered unlettable from April 2023 due to new Energy Performance Certificate requirements.
How can Priva help?
Priva supports regulatory changes that improve building performance – mirroring our own focus on cloud-based solutions that will boost the efficiency and sustainability of commercial buildings.
We welcome conversations about smarter approaches to building management from any commercial landlord, commercial real estate operator or manager who wants to make their buildings more energy efficient, smarter and intelligent.
