NovaLoca Blog

Holding an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) for all commercial properties being let, sold or built in England and Wales became compulsory on the 1^st October 2008 and now it is the turn of commercial property in Scotland.

From the 1^st December 2008 all commercial properties for sale in Scotland must have an EPC. However, owners with commercial properties to let in Scotland have until the 4^th January 2009 to get their EPC’s ready. Having said that, sorting this out sooner rather than later will mean delays in being able to advertise properties on for rent after this date are avoided.

As a rough guide all commercial retail spaces, warehouses, industrial units, factories and offices will require an EPC. However, there are some exceptions to this. An EPC is not needed if the building:

· Has a gross internal area of less than 50 square metres

· Is a place of worship

· Is a temporary building intended for use for less than two years, or

· Is a low energy demand building, e.g. a barn.

To find out more information about the requirements for EPC’s for commercial property in Scotland visit EPC Scotland.

The ever increasing number of property listing search engines coming to the market providing an additional avenue through which to advertise commercial property online has led to the integrity of these sites being called into question, after reports that in some cases property listings have been added to sites without the permission of the property owner or agent.

Of course each portal differs in the way they operate including the techniques they use to obtain property information to be listed on their site and although we cannot speak for them, we can explain our position on this.

At NovaLoca we pride ourselves on how we are ‘Making It Easy’ for commercial property owners, agents and occupiers to market and find commercial property. Having designed NovaLoca with all these groups in mind we strive to ensure that when a commercial property search is carried out occupiers can be confident the property listings are relevant and up to date whilst agents know their properties are being accurately represented.

The best way to do this is to ensure the agents involvement throughout the time a property is listed on NovaLoca and so why it is essentially impossible to list a property on the site without the agents expressed permission to do so. We never knowingly add properties without this consent. Whether occupiers are looking for commercial property in London, Manchester or even Margate using NovaLoca they can be assured that permission has been granted for that property to be listed. In the majority of cases permission will have been given by a senior person within the property agency. This all also means that commercial property owners and agents have complete knowledge of exactly where and how their properties are being marketed ensuring they maintain full control.

You can find out more about NovaLoca’s stance on this by reading our Terms of Use and Privacy policies or if you have any further questions about advertising commercial property please contact a member of the team.