Commercial property owners must act now to opt out of energy performance data disclosure, says expert

DCLG is to release around 723,000 records made up of data from Display Energy Certificates (DECs) belonging to non-domestic buildings, and non-domestic Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs), by the end of this month. The data will be published in response to a request for information under the 2004 Environmental Information Regulations (EIR), according to a letter sent to the holders of these certificates this week.

Records will be published at address level, meaning that anybody would be able to search for data on a particular property as long as they knew the address. Energy and environmental law expert Linda Fletcher of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said that companies with EPCs would have to consider the "pros and cons" of making this information publicly available and decide whether or not to opt out all of their properties or perhaps just their 'showcase' properties. Holders of DECs will not be able to opt out of publication.

"Publication will enable interested parties to identify the owner or occupier of a building, and decide whether that entity is taking a responsible attitude towards energy consumption and emissions," Fletcher said. "It could also have potential adverse effects on property deals and future land negotiations, as data may provide early market information on the possible value of a property before the owner or occupier considers marketing it."

"However, a decision to opt out so that data is not disclosed may be viewed by some in a bad light and taken as an indication that the owner or occupier is concealing unfavourable EPC asset ratings. If EPC asset ratings are good, it may be preferable for this information to be in the public domain as it could be useful PR," she said.

EPCs are required to be produced on the sale, rent or construction of a building. They provide information on the energy efficient design of a building; contain recommendations on how to reduce that building's energy use and carbon dioxide emissions; and include an asset rating from 'A', for most efficient, to 'G'. DECs must be displayed in a prominent place in buildings occupied by public authorities and visited frequently by the public, and reflect that building's actual operational energy use.

DCLG said that it was in the "public interest" to make information about the energy performance of buildings available, and that publication would be particularly valuable to "researchers, local authorities and environmental organisations". A copyright notice will be published alongside the data, advising that its use is subject to conditions including a ban on using the addresses for commercial purposes.

The Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is due to publish draft regulations on minimum energy efficiency standards (MESS) for properties in England and Wales later this year for consultation. The new requirements, which are expected to take effect in April 2018, will mean that landlords will not be able to grant new leases of properties with an EPC rating below 'E' unless they have carried out certain energy efficiency improvements. From April 2023, landlords will not be permitted to continue to let these properties at all.

"The disclosure of EPC data will, in effect, make public those properties which are going to be affected by the MEES regulations," Fletcher said. "This will give interested parties an indication of the scale of the impact of the new regulations and offer a tool that may be used to seek energy efficiency improvements now."

"Companies should already be putting in place plans to prioritise assets, to ensure that any cost effective improvements in energy efficiency are carried out by the relevant deadline or consider a rationalisation of property holdings," she said.

Editor's note, 08/01/2015: this story was amended because it previously wrongly suggested that the publication was a formal part of the government's 'open data' initiative. We apologise for the error.