THE BUILDING ENERGY EFFICIENCY DISCLOSURE BILL 2010:How does this affect you?

Just as commercial real estate agents thought that “all things environmental” relating to property were only issues for residential real estate agents, the BuildingEnergy Efficiency Disclosure Bill 2010 has been released to the public.The legislation is rumoured to commence on 1 July 2010, however the obligationscontained in the legislation are to commence on the implementation day to bedetermined by way of proclamation within 6 months of the commencement date.

What is the Building Energy Efficiency Disclosure Bill 2010?

In a nutshell, the bill outlines the obligation on owners of commercial buildings with anet lettable area of more than 2000m

to prepare and make available a BuildingEnergy Efficiency Certificate (“BEEC”) to a proposed purchaser or tenant wishing tolease space in the building. The purpose of the legislation is to provide information toa prospective purchaser or tenant on how “environmentally friendly” a property is.This information is to be made available prior to the owner engaging in negotiationsto sell or lease the property and it is also a requirement that all advertising materialused to market a property for sale or lease must contain the BEEC.

Are there any exclusions?

These requirements do not apply to the sale of shares or units in an entity whichowns a commercial property. The owner of a unit or share is not obligated to providea BEEC to a purchaser of their unit or share, whatever the case may be.Buildings which are used for security or police operations, newly built buildings andbuildings that have had major refurbishments are excluded from complying with thelegislation.

What must a BEEC contain?

The purpose of the BEEC is to provide the following important information to aprospective purchaser or tenant:the energy efficiency rating for the property;an assessment of the energy efficiency of the lighting that is expected to remainin the building; andguidance and assistance relating to the energy efficiency of the building and howit may be improved.