Building Energy Efficiency Certificate (BEEC)

As of 1 July 2017, owners, landlords and tenants intending to sell, lease or sublet office space with an area of 1000 m² or more may be required to first obtain a Building Energy Efficiency Certificate. The Certificate must provide details with respect to the energy efficiency, water usage, waste management and environmental quality of the building by way of a star rating system known as NABERS Energy rating.

Disclosure Affected Building/Areas

These obligations apply to:

  1. A “disclosure affected building of 1000 m2 or more” – being a building that is used or capable of being used as an office; and
  2. A “disclosure affected area of a building of 1000 m2 or more” – meaning an area of a building that is used or capable of being used as an office.

When is a Building Energy Efficiency Certificate required?

A Certificate is required for a disclosure affected building or disclosure affected area of a building of 1000 m2 or more:

  1. If the owner is a company and:
  • Offers to sell the building;
  • Invites an offer to enter into a contract for the building or creates a right to purchase the building; or
  • Offers to lease or sublet the building or offers to enter into an agreement granting a right to lease or sublet the building; or
  1.  If the owner is an individual/s, and a proposed purchaser or tenant is a company and wishes to purchase or lease the building – in that case the purchaser/tenant company can require the owner to provide a current Certificate; or
  2. If a tenant intends to sublet all or part of its leased building and the tenant is a company, or if the proposed subtenant is a company and requests a Certificate.

Exemptions

A Certificate is not required in the following circumstances:

  1. New buildings where a certificate of occupancy has not been issued or was issued less than two years earlier;
  2. Buildings for which a major refurbishment has been undertaken and a certificate of occupancy was issued less than two years earlier;
  3. Strata-titled buildings;
  4. Mixed use buildings where the total office space comprises less than 75% of the building by net lettable area;
  5. Sales of a building via a share or unit sale or sales of a partial interest in the building;
  6. Leases and subleases for a term and options which together total 12 months or less;
  7. An offer to enter into a contract between wholly owned subsidiaries of an entity or between an entity and a wholly owned subsidiary of that entity;
  8. Other limited circumstances.

If you are seeking to:

  1. Sell, lease or sublet a disclosure affected building or area, or
  2. Wish to lease or sublet such a building and want information about the building before you commit to the Lease, you should obtain advice.

Author: Cathy Drake

Published: 1 May 2018

 

The information in this article is general in nature and is not to be relied upon as legal advice. As always, we recommend you seek thorough legal advice to consider your own circumstances and determine whether the information contained in this article is applicable to you.  This article is current as at the date of publishing but will not be updated as circumstances change.