If you own, lease, or manage a commercial property in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, or anywhere in the Midlands, compliance is not something you can leave until renewal time. Energy efficiency rules are tightening, fire safety enforcement has stepped up, and the legal obligations attached to commercial premises now touch almost every part of property ownership: from marketing a unit for let to managing the building day to day.
This guide brings together the three areas that cause the most confusion for landlords, investors, and occupiers: Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs), fire and general safety regulations, and the wider legal obligations that sit around them. Whether you are preparing to sell, planning a new lease, or simply reviewing your existing portfolio, understanding these requirements now will save you time, money, and risk later.
Why Commercial Property Compliance Matters
Compliance is not just a legal formality. A non-compliant property can be difficult to let, harder to insure, more expensive to finance, and at risk of enforcement action or fines. Increasingly, lenders and tenants alike are scrutinising energy performance and safety records before committing to a deal, so getting compliance right protects both the value of your asset and your ability to do business with it.
If you are weighing up your options for a commercial unit, our article on buying vs leasing commercial property is a useful starting point, since compliance obligations differ depending on whether you own or occupy under a lease.
Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) for Commercial Property
What Is a Commercial EPC?
A Commercial Energy Performance Certificate rates the energy efficiency of a non-domestic building on a scale from A+ (net zero) to G (least efficient). Unlike a domestic EPC, the commercial version is based on estimated carbon emissions per square metre per year rather than modelled running costs. A valid EPC is required whenever a commercial property is built, sold, or let, and it must be made available to prospective buyers or tenants at the point of marketing.
Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES): The Rules You Need to Know
The Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards set the legal floor for letting commercial property in England and Wales. As things stand:
- The current minimum EPC rating for most let commercial property is E.
- In summer 2026, the government dropped its plan to raise this to C in 2027.
- It now proposes a minimum of B from 2031 for let commercial buildings over 1,000 square metres, where cost-effective. Smaller buildings would stay at E. This still needs new legislation.
In practice, this means landlords cannot legally grant a new lease, or in most cases continue letting, on a property rated F or G unless a valid exemption has been registered. As the thresholds rise, properties that comfortably meet today’s E rating may fall short well before the next deadline, so it is worth checking your rating against the future requirement, not just the current one.
Exemptions and What Happens If You Do Not Comply
Exemptions exist, for example where the cost of improvement works would reduce the property’s market value by more than five per cent, or where all reasonably available efficiency measures have already been carried out. These exemptions generally need to be registered and supported by evidence, such as an independent surveyor’s report, rather than simply assumed.
Failure to provide a valid EPC, or letting a property below the legal minimum without a registered exemption, can result in financial penalties based on the property’s rateable value, and can prevent a sale or letting from completing at all. Given how much weight EPCs now carry in financing and leasing decisions, this is an area worth getting right well ahead of any transaction.
If you are budgeting for the cost of bringing a property up to standard, our piece on the hidden costs of commercial property ownership sets out the kind of expenditure that often catches owners off guard, EPC upgrades included.
Improving Your EPC Rating
Common steps to improve a commercial EPC rating include upgrading insulation, replacing lighting with LED systems, installing more efficient heating and ventilation, and, where appropriate, incorporating renewable energy sources such as solar panels. These works can often be planned alongside other improvements rather than treated as a standalone cost, particularly if you are already considering ways to grow income from the building. Our guide on increasing rental yield without major renovations covers some of the lower-cost improvements that can support both yield and energy performance at the same time.
Not sure where your property stands against the 2027 and 2030 deadlines? Contact our team for advice on EPC compliance and improvement planning.
Fire and General Safety Regulations
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
Fire safety in commercial buildings in England and Wales is governed primarily by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. The Order places responsibility on the “responsible person”, typically the building owner, employer, or landlord, depending on who controls the premises. Where a lease splits responsibility between landlord and tenant, for example landlord control of shared stairwells and tenant control of their own unit, both parties can hold overlapping responsible person duties, so the lease should set this out clearly.
Fire Risk Assessments
A suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment is a legal requirement for commercial premises, and it is not a one-off exercise. The assessment should identify fire hazards, evaluate existing precautions, and set out any further measures needed to reduce risk to an acceptable level. It needs to be reviewed regularly and updated whenever there is a significant change to the building, its layout, or its occupancy. For buildings with multiple let units, such as a parade of shops or a multi-let office building, each unit typically needs its own assessment alongside one covering the building as a whole.
What a Compliant Building Should Have in Place
At a minimum, a compliant commercial property should have:
- A documented, in-date fire risk assessment
- Working fire detection and alarm systems, properly maintained and tested
- Adequate fire extinguishers in common areas, correctly rated for the risks present
- Clearly marked and unobstructed escape routes
- Emergency lighting where required
- Fire doors that are maintained and not propped open
Recent Legislative Changes
The Fire Safety Act 2021 and the Building Safety Act 2022 have clarified and, in places, extended these duties, particularly for multi-occupied buildings. While the most significant changes are aimed at residential and mixed-use blocks, commercial landlords with shared parts, such as communal entrances, lifts, or stairwells, still need to ensure those areas meet current standards.
If you manage a building with a mix of uses, our article on effective block management explains how professional management can help keep shared-area compliance on track without it falling between the gaps.
If you are unsure whether your current fire risk assessment and safety arrangements meet today’s standards, get in touch, and we can point you in the right direction.
Wider Legal Obligations for Commercial Property Owners
Compliance does not stop at energy and fire safety. Depending on the property, owners and landlords may also need to consider:
- Asbestos management, where older commercial buildings must be assessed and, where asbestos-containing materials are present, managed under a documented plan.
- Electrical safety, including periodic inspection and testing of fixed wiring and portable appliances in common areas.
- Accessibility obligations under the Equality Act 2010, which require reasonable adjustments to be considered for disabled access, even where a full retrofit is not feasible.
- Health and safety duties more broadly, covering matters such as means of escape, water hygiene (including Legionella risk in water systems), and general maintenance of common parts.
- Business rates and other statutory obligations, which, while not safety-related, still carry legal and financial consequences if mismanaged. Our overview of business rates explains how these are assessed and where savings can sometimes be found.
Before taking on a new commercial property, working through these obligations alongside the physical condition of the building is essential. Our commercial property due diligence checklist sets out what to review before you commit, including many of the compliance points covered here.
Who Is Responsible: Landlord or Tenant?
Responsibility for compliance is usually determined by the lease, not assumed by default. In a typical commercial lease:
- The landlord is generally responsible for the structure, common parts, and base building systems, including EPC compliance for the building or unit being let and fire safety in shared areas.
- The tenant is generally responsible for their own fit-out, day-to-day fire safety within their demise, and compliance with regulations specific to their use of the space, such as food hygiene or licensing requirements.
Where responsibilities are unclear or contested, this is usually a sign that the lease wording needs reviewing, or that a dilapidations or rent review process needs to take compliance costs into account. Our pages on rent reviews and lease renewals, and dilapidations cover how these obligations can affect negotiations at key points in a lease.
Staying Ahead of Compliance: A Practical Checklist
A straightforward way to keep on top of commercial property compliance is to treat it as a recurring review rather than a single task. As a minimum, check the following on a regular basis:
- Is the EPC current, and does it meet not just today’s minimum but the rating you will need by 2031?
- Is the fire risk assessment up to date and does it reflect the building as it is now, not as it was when last assessed?
- Are fire safety systems and equipment being tested and maintained on schedule?
- Has anything changed in occupancy, layout, or use that might trigger a reassessment?
- Are lease terms clear on who holds responsibility for each compliance area?
If you are reviewing a wider portfolio, our look at the 2026 commercial property market outlook puts compliance pressures in the context of broader trends affecting buyers, landlords, and investors this year.
Get Expert Support with Commercial Property Compliance
Compliance requirements for commercial property are only becoming more demanding, and the cost of getting it wrong, whether through fines, a stalled sale, or a failed letting, is far higher than the cost of getting it right from the start.
Rory Mack Associates has been supporting commercial property owners, landlords, and investors across Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, and the Midlands for years, and our team can help you understand exactly where your property stands.
Contact Rory Mack Associates today to discuss your commercial property compliance, or call us on 01782 715725 to speak to a member of our team.
