New building disclosure laws from 1 July, 2017

From 1 July 2017, the mandatory disclosure threshold on commercial office buildings will be lowered from 2000 square metres to 1000 square metres. 

You are likely to be affected by the Commercial Building Disclosure (CBD) Program if you are:

• a building owner who is selling or leasing office space with a net lettable area of 2000 square metres (1000 square metres from 1 July 2017) or more

• a tenant who is subleasing part of your tenancy with a net lettable area of 2000 square metres (1000 square metres from 1 July 2017) or more

• a real estate agent who is advertising office space with a net lettable area of 2000 square metres (1000 square metres from 1 July 2017) or more

• a CBD accredited assessor who must comply with the conditions of accreditation, conduct of assessments and use of information gathered from building owners and tenants.

Also affected are potential buyers or lessees of office space of 2000 square metres (1000 square metres from 1 July 2017) or more”because having consistent and meaningful information about the building’s performance makes it easier for you to buy or rent more energy efficient office space.

Whether or not you are affected depends on:

• what type of entity owns or leases the office space

• the nature of the office space

• the nature of the proposed transaction for the office space (for example, proposed sales and leases).

For more information visit the CBD Program website.