Is Your Building Lease or Sale Ready?

 

Changes to the Commercial Building Disclosure (CBD) program came effect on the 1st of July 2017 however Alex Sejournee, UPM Manager and experienced NABERS assessor at HFM Asset Managment believes many landlords or managing agents are leaving it too late in the sales or leasing process to think about compliance with the Building Energy Efficiency Disclosure Act 2010.

“The CBD department is constantly reviewing advertising material related to commercial office transactions both online and in print and have issued several warning letters to landlords and property managers advising them to remove non-compliant advertising or face serious financial penalties,” he said.

“CBD states on their website that the current penalties are a maximum of $210,000 for the first day of non-compliance and up to $21,000 for each subsequent day of non-compliance if imposed by a court. Alternatively, the Department of the Environment and Energy may issue an infringement notice of up to $21,000 for the first day and up to $2,100 for each subsequent day of non-compliance.

“The timeframe to complete a Building Energy Efficiency Certificate can take anywhere from 2-6 weeks. Timeframes are highly dependent on collection of all required data and a final review and formal certification by NABERS and CBD departments is required.

“Therefore, its paramount that landlords and managing agents understand the assessment process and timeframes to ensure they don’t face disruption in their sales or leasing campaign or even financial penalties,” Mr Sejournee said.

For more information contact HFM Asset Management.