Over one in five commercial buildings in Leeds score below EPC B, new research finds
More than one in five commercial buildings in Leeds score below an EPC rating of B, according to new research.
Research from the British Property Federation (BPF) found that 18 per cent of commercial real estate in Leeds has an EPC rating of A or B, equating to over 12 million sq. m below EPC B, the equivalent of 159 Trinity shopping centres.
The research found that 83 per cent of commercial buildings in seven major cities have an EPC below B.
The analysis of commercial real estate in London, Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle shows that just 2 per cent of commercial buildings have an EPC rating of A and a further 15 per cent have an EPC rating of B.
BPF said the research shines a light on the scale of the challenge facing commercial real estate as uncertainty over future regulations continues.
Rob Wall, assistant director at the BPF, said: “Commercial and industrial buildings account for around a third of all building emissions. The sector has a critical role to play in tackling climate change.
“Our research shows the scale of the challenge we face in retrofitting our commercial buildings, across all asset types and across the UK.”
Manchester tops the table of top EPC ratings, with 20 per cent of commercial buildings securing an EPC rating of A or B, followed closely by London with 19 per cent.
Leeds and Liverpool occupy mid table with 18 per cent of commercial buildings rated A or B.
Coming in bottom of the table are Newcastle at 16 per cent and Bristol and Birmingham where just 15 per cent of commercial spaces in these two cities have an EPC rating of B or above.
To bring all commercial real estate in these cities up to an EPC A or B by 2030 would require 94,595 sq. m of space to be upgraded every single day for the next five years, according to the BPF.
The current proposals for EPC ratings in the commercial sector, consulted on in 2021, are a target of EPC C by 2027 and EPC B by 2030.
According to the BPF, there has been no response to the proposed targets since a consultation in 2021, leaving the EPC C target “unrealistic” and the EPC B target “increasingly challenging”.
Mr Wall added: “The lack of a response to the 2021 consultation is hugely frustrating and is making a tough situation worse. The targets proposed in 2021 no longer look achievable, and we would call for the proposed interim EPC C target to be abandoned entirely.
“To be clear, we support higher minimum standards, and we are seeing improvements in the EPC ratings of commercial buildings. But progress is slow.”