Section 63 Assessments
If you’re based in Scotland, and own a commercial property or unit >1,000sqm and you’re selling or creating a new lease, you’ll be eligible under the Section 63 legislation.
This means that as well as an EPC you'll need to instruct a Section 63 assessment.
Every Section 63 assessment generates an Action Plan.
Action Plans can be Prescriptive (based on standardised measures) or Alternative - tailored to your property.
Either way the Action Plan is designed to improve efficiency and reduce emissions.
Once your assessment is done and the Action Plan complete it will be lodged with the EPC on the Scottish register and made available to all potential buyers or tenants.
The Action Plan will have to be implemented eventually - it can be deferred by creating and displaying a Display Energy Certificate (DEC) once a year - or implemented within 42 months (3.5 years) of the Section 63 assessment being lodged. That might be done by the existing owner or the new owner/tenant, but whoever takes on the work must complete it within that timescale.
Prescriptive measures include:
Draught-stripping
Lighting sensors and energy efficient bulbs
Heating timers
Hot water insulation and boiler age
Roof insulation
They won’t always all apply.