The BPF has called on the government to immediately clarify its EPC targets for commercial buildings.
It said that inaction from ministers meant that developers and landlords were being “kept in the dark”.
The British Property Federation said it was calling on ministers to immediately publish its response to the consultation on new minimum energy efficiency standards (MEES) for commercial property owners, which concluded in 2021.
It said that the delay in publishing a response to the consultation had already made the proposed interim milestone of EPC C by 2027 “unrealistic”. Any additional delay risked undermining work to deliver the longer-term target of EPC B by 2030.
BPF assistant director Rob Wall said: “The Government needs to send a clear signal to the market now about the long-term direction of travel. It is more than two years since the consultation closed and commercial landlords are still in the dark over exactly what the new standards will be and how new regulations will be implemented and enforced.”
He added that recent comments around minimum energy efficiency standards for the domestic private rented sector – with ministers saying that the targets would be delayed or even scrapped – had further fuelled uncertainty for the commercial sector.
The BPF said lack of regulatory certainty was one of the top five barriers to a net zero property sector.
Wall said: “We hear repeatedly from commercial property owners that the lack of regulatory certainty is one of the biggest barriers to decarbonising buildings. The uncertainty over future MEES regulations is part of this and is holding back investment into energy efficiency measures and undermining efforts to make our buildings greener and cleaner. The Government needs to publish a response to the 2021consultation as soon as possible.”
According to research from Savills, 87% of office stock has an EPC rating of C or below, and more than 1bn sq ft across the UK is below the proposed minimum EPC B.
The BPF said the response from the government needed to confirm the timelines and provide clarity on the rules around exemptions and enforcement.
It also called on the government to provide information on the split of responsibilities between owners and occupiers and confirm payback arrangements and on the obligations associated with listed buildings.
It is also calling for clarity on the introduction of a performance-based rating scheme for large commercial and industrial buildings, as was proposed in 2021.
