Statutory Obligations
Statutory Obligations
There are various schemes of legislation that are of relevance to commercial property. There are obligations to comply with planning permission, building regulations, health safety and welfare legislation and disability discrimination legislation. Depending on the nature of the property and the tenant’s business, other special legislation may apply.
Statutory Notices
Leases will typically oblige the tenant to comply with statutory notices relating to the state of repair and condition of the property. There may be an obligation on the tenant, to join with the landlord in making representations to the statutory authority, in relation to such notices.
Notices by statutory authorities could lead to substantial liabilities for expenses. The notices may derive from general legislation relating to the state of repair and condition of the property or may relate to specific issues arising from the business of the tenant of the use to which the property is put.
There is a wide range of legislation under which requirements can be made to upgrade or incur expenditure on the property. Sanitary services legislation empowers local authorities to make requirements to give basic public health issues, such as want of sanitation, water etc.
Fire Legislation
Fire safety services legislation entitles the fire authorities (generally the councils) to make requirements to upgrade fire safety. Such requirements may be costly and expensive in the case of older buildings. For example, fire escapes, etc. may be required. Although older buildings are exempted from more modern building regulations, fire authorities retain discretion to serve notices in the case of premises where they believe it appropriate.
Health and Safety at Work
Health safety and welfare at work legislation provides specific standards for buildings and workplaces. The Health and Safety Authority has powers to require the workplaces to comply with minimum health safety welfare standards. Similarly, disabilities legislation can require adjustments to buildings that do not incur specific costs. Similarly, there are obligations under environmental and other legislation.
BER
A Building Energy Rating (BER) and advisory report must be supplied by the owner to a prospective buyer or tenant of a property when constructed, sold or rented. The BER is an indicator of energy performance covering energy use for space heating and cooling, water heating, ventilation and lighting, calculated on the basis of standard operating patterns. It is accompanied by a CO2 emissions indicator.
The BER is intended to give prospective buyers and tenants information about the energy performance of buildings. The building owner must engage a registered BER assessor to carry out assessments. The BER assessor follows the Non-Domestic Energy Assessment Procedure(NEAP) to calculate the BER and generate the advisory report.
The BER must be accompanied by an “Advisory Report” setting out recommendations for cost-effective improvements to the energy performance of the building. There is no legal obligation to carry out the recommended improvements.