Time is running out to respond to consultation on energy performance of non-domestic building

Section 63 of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 requires the Scottish Ministers to provide, by regulations, for the assessment of the energy performance of non-domestic buildings. The Scottish Ministers are now consulting on proposals to fulfil that obligation.

It is proposed that regulations will be introduced to require eligible non-domestic buildings to be subject to an Assessment of Carbon and Energy Performance (ACEP) at the point of a sale, lease or lease renewal. The ACEP will consist of:

The regulations will set out which buildings are eligible although the consultation does propose that buildings which are constructed to 2002 or more recent building standards, or can demonstrate equivalence with 2002 energy standards, will be exempt. It is also proposed that owners of buildings with an EPC less than 10 years old will only need to prepare an action plan for the purposes of the ACEP.

Once the recommendations report is available, the owner can elect to either carry out physical improvement works or undertake an assessment to determine the energy consumption of the building. If the owner decides to undertake the assessment it is proposed that they will be required to report annually on energy consumption and CO2 emissions and display a certificate of the ratings within the building.

The action plan will record the decision made by the owner and also include the timescale for implementing any improvement measures.

The regulations will apply to public and private buildings and it should be noted that, where an owner delegates the task of implementing the action plan to a tenant under a lease, the owner will still have ultimate responsibility for complying with the action plan. Local authorities are likely to be given the task of enforcing the regulations.

The consultation closes on 20 January 2012. Full details of the proposals and how to respond can be found here.