Nearly Half of European Commercial Buildings Fall Short of Energy Standards

It's mandatory for commercial buildings to be awarded an energy performance certificate (EPC) before being sold or let out. But according to a recent report released by Just EPC, provider of energy performance certificates, 40 percent of commercial properties in Europe do not comply with green building standards.

Over half of all registered commercial properties are without valid commercial EPC certificates, the company said in a press statement.

This news comes in the wake of implementation of 2011 EPC and Energy Act, wherein an EPC must be commissioned before the property is put on the market. The act also makes it unlawful to rent commercial properties with a rating of E or below from 2018.

Implementation of the Act is part of the European Union’s mandate to make all residential and commercial buildings Net Zero Energy by 2018.

“That means that in six years, all new European buildings will produce as much electricity as they consume on an annual basis and become a resource provider instead of an energy taker,” Green Build TV reported.

Meanwhile, commercial property owners of energy consuming structures could face a hard time selling their projects as the deadline approaches, Just EPC statement said.

“Commercial property landlords need to be aware that the longer they leave their property in a low grade or borderline condition, the more costly it will be to implement improvements as the 2018 deadline approaches, with more and more landlords scrambling to save their buildings from being blacklisted and unsellable,” Phil Cardwell said in a statement. “The eagerly awaited Green Deal can benefit landlords financially with no upfront costs for carry out energy efficiency improvements and should be considered by the 40 percent that do not meet the benchmark.”

Cardwell said that the closer we get to the 2018 deadline, the more expensive it will be for sellers to get an EPC. Moreover, the saleability of the property will also be affected as new prospects will simply not want the risk or expense of taking on what could be a very costly and time consuming project, the release said.