As many as 130,000 commercial properties in England and Wales could become obsolete when the government’s new commercial EPC targets take effect from tomorrow (1 April), according to research from Rapleys.
It found there are around 130,000 properties that are currently below the required minimum EPC E rating, which equates to 93 million square metres of commercial real estate in England and Wales alone.
Lee Fraine, head of sustainability and building services at Rapleys, said: “While these policies were put in place to deal with the very real challenge of climate change and are legally binding targets from The 2008 Climate Change Act and the 2015 Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards, the reality is that in a couple of days’ time smaller landlords who cannot afford to upgrade will suffer.
“Yes, there are exemptions but these will be helpful to very small properties, not the middle ground who are constantly being squeezed from the property market. In residential we have seen landlords exiting the industry in droves, and now we face a situation where commercial landlords are unable to upgrade and unable to earn an income.
“Yes, there needs to be a line drawn but perhaps – given the current economic challenges and the need to help the high street and boost businesses, some further help could be given to those smaller landlords that only just don’t meet the exemption criteria which will together make up a significant number of the 130,000 properties in this category.”
