Commercial Building Disclosure – threshold halves from 1 July 2017 – Are you ready?

From 1 July 2017, the threshold for the compulsory Commercial Building Disclosure (CBD) of an office building’s energy efficiency will reduce from 2,000m2 to 1,000m².

The legislation, which commenced in 2010, requires most owners of office buildings to have a current building energy efficiency certificate (BEEC) before offering to sell or lease their property.

The disclosure obligations currently only apply to sales or leases of 2,000m² or more of net lettable area of office space. However, from 1 July 2017, the regime will expand significantly to capture sales and leases of 1,000m² of net lettable area of office space. The disclosure requirements also apply to subleases.

The seller or landlord must also:

• include the building’s NABER’s energy star rating in any advertisement for the sale or lease of the property;
• not sell or enter into a sale without a BEEC;
• not lease or enter into a lease without a BEEC; and
• provide a copy of the BEEC to a potential buyer or tenant on request.

Some buildings are exempt, for example:

• new buildings if the certificate of occupancy is less than 2 years old;
• strata titled buildings; and
• mixed use buildings where the total office space is less than 75% of the building.

The BEEC must be included on the building energy efficiency register.

Significant penalties apply for not complying, which can accrue for each day of non-compliance.