Landlord compliance

Commercial EPC (Energy Performance Certificate)

Non-domestic Energy Performance Certificates for offices, shops and commercial units.

From £260 (inc VAT) Lodged within 48 hours 12-month workmanship guarantee

Book this service 07426 409342

Starting from

£260inc VAT

up to 50m² · non-domestic energy assessors

Accredited non-domestic assessors at the correct certification level

Zoned SBEM modelling, not a domestic method stretched to fit

Lodged within 48 hours

Recommendations prioritised by actual rating uplift per pound

Book online

Overview

What is a Commercial EPC certificate?

A commercial or non-domestic EPC rates the energy efficiency of a business premises and is required before letting or selling. Non-domestic assessment uses SBEM rather than the domestic RdSAP methodology, which means building services — heating, cooling, ventilation, lighting and controls — carry far more weight than they do in a home. Pricing is by floor area, and assessments are carried out by accredited non-domestic energy assessors at the appropriate certification level for the building.

Why it matters

Why it's worth getting right

Commercial MEES has the same teeth as the domestic regime but substantially larger penalties, reaching £150,000 for the worst breaches on larger properties. Beyond compliance, energy performance now materially affects commercial value: institutional investors and corporate tenants increasingly have their own minimum standards, lenders weight EPC ratings in commercial lending decisions, and a poorly rated unit takes longer to let and achieves less rent. The rating has moved from a compliance box to a valuation input.

Commercial MEES and your obligations

A valid EPC is required before a non-domestic property is marketed for sale or let, with the rating shown in advertising. Certificates are valid for ten years. Under the Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) Regulations 2015, it has been unlawful since April 2018 to grant a new lease on a commercial property rated F or G, and since April 2023 that prohibition extends to all existing commercial leases — meaning continuing to let a sub-standard property is itself a breach. Where the standard cannot be met, an exemption must be registered on the PRS Exemptions Register. Penalties are calculated on rateable value and reach £150,000 for breaches of more than three months on larger properties, alongside publication on the register.

Regulations & standards

The rules this work is carried out to

Every inspection we do is measured against a published standard — here are the ones that apply to this service.

SI 2015/962

Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) Regulations 2015

Minimum band E for all commercial leases since April 2023.

SBEM

Simplified Building Energy Model

The government methodology for non-domestic EPC calculation.

SI 2012/3118

Energy Performance of Buildings Regulations 2012

EPC required before marketing; ten-year validity.

In detail

Understanding your Commercial EPC

The technical detail behind the certificate — what gets checked, what the results mean, and the decisions that actually affect your property.

SBEM and why commercial assessment is different

Non-domestic EPCs use the Simplified Building Energy Model, which works quite differently from the domestic method. Rather than a limited set of standard inputs, SBEM builds a zoned model of the building — each area classified by its activity type, whether office, retail, storage, kitchen or circulation — and calculates energy demand for heating, cooling, ventilation, lighting, hot water and auxiliary systems against a notional reference building of the same size and shape. The consequence is that building services dominate the result far more than fabric does. An office with efficient LED lighting, good controls and a modern heating and cooling system can substantially outperform a better-insulated building running old fluorescent lighting and unzoned air conditioning.

Assessment levels and why they affect the price

Non-domestic assessors are certified at three levels and the correct level depends on the building's services. Level 3 covers buildings with straightforward services — simple heating, natural ventilation, basic lighting — which describes most small shops and offices. Level 4 covers buildings with more complex systems including mechanical ventilation, air conditioning and centralised plant. Level 5 uses full dynamic simulation modelling for genuinely complex buildings. Using an assessor certified below the level a building requires produces an invalid certificate, which is a real risk with unusually cheap quotes. We assess the building first and attend at the right level rather than discovering the problem on site.

The measures that move a commercial rating

Because SBEM weights services heavily, the improvements that deliver the most rating uplift per pound are usually not fabric work. LED lighting replacement is consistently the single highest-value measure, particularly in retail and office space where lighting loads are high and old fittings inefficient. Adding lighting controls — occupancy detection, daylight dimming, zoning — compounds the gain. Upgrading heating and cooling plant and adding proper zoned controls delivers the next largest step. Improved building management system programming often produces real gains at almost no capital cost. Insulation and glazing improvements matter, but in a services-dominated commercial building they typically deliver less rating movement per pound than lighting and controls.

Who is responsible, and when the certificate is needed

The duty to have a valid EPC before marketing sits with the seller or the landlord granting the lease. In practice this creates friction in commercial letting because tenant fit-outs change the building's services — and therefore its rating — after the certificate is produced. Two points are worth knowing. First, the certificate must exist before marketing begins, not before completion, so leaving it to the last minute delays the letting. Second, if a fit-out materially changes the building services, the existing EPC may no longer reflect the building and a fresh assessment is worth commissioning, particularly where the original rating was a marginal E. Where a lease is being renewed on a sub-standard property, the April 2023 extension means you cannot simply continue as you were.

Warning signs

When you need a commercial EPC

Commission one if any of these apply:

You are marketing a commercial unit to let or sell

An existing lease continues on a property rated F or G — now unlawful

Your certificate is approaching or past ten years old

A fit-out has materially changed the building's heating, cooling or lighting

The current rating is a marginal E with no headroom

A lender, investor or corporate tenant has asked for current certification

You are planning an LED or plant upgrade and want a baseline to measure against

You hold no certificate, or cannot locate it on the register

The risks

The commercial exposure

Commercial MEES penalties are among the largest in property compliance:

!Penalties up to £150,000 based on rateable value for extended breaches

!Unlawful to continue letting a sub-standard property since April 2023

!Publication of non-compliance on the PRS Exemptions Register

!Units that cannot be marketed, sitting empty while liable for rates

!Institutional investors and corporate tenants excluding poorly rated stock

!Commercial lending declined or repriced on low-rated assets

!Invalid certificates produced by assessors certified below the required level

Managing commercial energy performance

Keep full records of all plant, lighting and controls upgrades, since these are the inputs that drive a commercial rating and they are the ones most likely to be undocumented after a contractor leaves. Reassess after any significant fit-out or plant replacement rather than assuming the old certificate still describes the building. Where you hold a marginal E, act before a lease event rather than after — the cheapest time to improve a rating is when a unit is empty between tenancies, not when a letting is waiting on it. For portfolios, an energy audit alongside the EPC identifies the measures with the best rating uplift per pound, which is almost always lighting and controls rather than fabric.

Why us

The benefits of booking your Commercial EPC with us

Accredited, transparent and built around making compliance easy.

Accredited non-domestic assessors at the correct certification level

Zoned SBEM modelling, not a domestic method stretched to fit

Lodged within 48 hours

Recommendations prioritised by actual rating uplift per pound

Clear commercial MEES position, including the April 2023 extension

Portfolio and multi-site pricing available

What's included

Everything covered in your Commercial EPC

One all-inclusive price — here is exactly what the engineer does on site and what you receive afterwards.

Survey by an accredited non-domestic energy assessor at the correct level

Zoned SBEM model built from actual building geometry and activity types

Heating, cooling, ventilation, lighting and controls assessed and recorded

Certificate production and lodgement on the national register within 48 hours

Recommendation report prioritised by rating impact

Plain-English commercial MEES position and next steps

Advice on the measures with the best uplift per pound spent

Pricing

Simple, all-inclusive pricing

The price you see is the price you pay — VAT included, with no hidden call-out fees. Your final price depends on the size of your property; we'll confirm an exact, all-inclusive quote before we attend.

Commercial EPC from

£260inc VAT

up to 50m² · non-domestic energy assessors

Get my exact price

All prices include VAT · 12-month workmanship guarantee

Commercial EPC pricing

Floor area	Price (inc VAT)
Up to 50m²	£260.00
50–100m²	£330.00
100–250m²	£409.00

All prices include VAT and lodgement on the national register. Premises over 250m², multi-let buildings and Level 5 dynamic simulation assessments are quoted individually — send us the floor area and a description of the services and we will confirm the same day.

Prices are all-inclusive of VAT with no hidden call-out fees. Where they genuinely apply, parking (£5) and the London Congestion Charge (£18) are passed on at cost and always shown up front.

The process

How your appointment works

Simple, transparent and designed around you and your tenants.

Step 1

Scope the building

Floor area and building services determine the required assessment level, so we confirm both and quote a fixed price.

Step 2

Survey and zone

The assessor measures the building and classifies each area by activity type, recording heating, cooling, ventilation and lighting.

Step 3

SBEM modelling

A zoned model is built and calculated against the notional reference building to produce the rating.

Step 4

Lodge and advise

The certificate is lodged within 48 hours, with recommendations prioritised by rating uplift and clear MEES advice.

FAQs

Commercial EPC — frequently asked questions

At least band E. Since April 2018 it has been unlawful to grant a new lease on an F or G rated commercial property, and since April 2023 that extends to all existing leases — so continuing to let a sub-standard unit is itself a breach.

They are calculated on rateable value and reach £150,000 for breaches of more than three months on larger properties, alongside publication of the non-compliance on the PRS Exemptions Register.

Because the methodology is substantially more involved. SBEM builds a zoned model of the building with each area classified by activity type and every building service recorded, rather than applying a limited set of standard domestic inputs. It requires more survey time and a differently certified assessor.

LED lighting replacement is consistently the best value, particularly in retail and offices, followed by lighting controls such as occupancy detection and daylight dimming, then heating and cooling plant upgrades with proper zoning. Because SBEM weights services heavily, these usually beat fabric work per pound spent.

If the fit-out materially changed heating, cooling, ventilation or lighting, the existing certificate may no longer describe the building — and a fresh assessment is worth commissioning, especially if the original rating was a marginal E.

No. Assessors are certified at Levels 3, 4 and 5 depending on the complexity of a building's services. An assessment carried out below the level a building requires produces an invalid certificate, which is a genuine risk with unusually cheap quotes. We confirm the required level before attending.

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