Any company owning or taking a commercial property should ensure
that there is a valid air-conditioning inspection report in place
or face the penalty warns commercial property agent
Prop-search.
Forming part of the final implementation in England and Wales of
the European Directive on Energy Performance of Buildings,
air-conditioning inspections are now a legal requirement. They are
designed to improve efficiency, reduce electricity consumption,
highlight operational improvements and provide opportunities to
replace older, over-sized or less efficient systems.
The legislation - TM44 - states that all air-conditioning
systems with a rated output over 12kW should now be inspected at
regular intervals and not more than five years apart, regardless of
building type.
Samantha Jones, a Surveyor at Prop-search, says: "This
legislation means that building owners and managers who operate
air-conditioning systems have statutory obligations under the
Energy Performance of Buildings Directive to ensure that
air-conditioning inspections are conducted by qualified and
accredited inspectors or face the penalty."
The primary aim of the inspection report is for it to generate
advice for the building user, or owner, to assist in identifying
opportunities to save energy and cut operating costs. It is also
intended to promote a continuous program of monitoring the
buildings energy needs in order to identify any problem areas, and
see a reduction in overall energy usage by implementing cost saving
measures identified as a result of the monitoring programme.
Compliance of the legislation is enforceable by Trading Standard
Officers. Failure to commission, keep or provide an
air-conditioning report when required means that businesses may be
issued with a penalty charge notice of £300. This is in
addition to the cost of then carrying out a compliant
assessment.
Samantha Jones adds: "Landlords should ensure that when
dilapidations are served on outgoing tenants at lease end that a
copy of any report is secured under the claim. This can then be
passed to an ingoing tenant."
For further information regarding the legislation or for a quote
please contact the prop-search team on Tel: 01933 223300 or visit
their website www.prop-search.com