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Commercial EPCs in Scotland: the section 63 rules

Updated 19 October 2026 · SEO Dons Editorial

Do the England and Wales MEES rules apply in Scotland?

No. MEES comes from the Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015, and the government's landlord guidance is marked as applying to England and Wales. The band E minimum for letting does not reach property in Scotland. Scotland also has its own EPC register: the GOV.UK Find an energy certificate service covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and points to a different service for Scotland.

What Scotland has instead, for larger non-domestic buildings, is a duty to assess and then improve, made under section 63 of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009. The detail is in the Assessment of Energy Performance of Non-domestic Buildings (Scotland) Regulations 2016 (SSI 2016/146), which apply from 1 September 2016. For the rules south of the border, see the MEES compliance guide.

Which buildings and deals trigger section 63?

The regulations apply to a non-domestic building, or a building unit, with a floor area of more than 1,000 square metres. A building unit is a part of a non-domestic building designed or altered to be used separately, so a large unit in a multi-let building can be caught on its own. The trigger is a sale, or a lease to a new tenant. The owner will usually need a valid EPC at the same point, so section 63 sits on top of the EPC duty rather than replacing it.

Three kinds of deal are exempt transactions:

  • a sale or lease before construction of the building or unit has been completed;
  • a short-term lease of no more than 16 weeks, where the owner has not let the building or unit in the 36 weeks before it;
  • renewing an existing lease with the same tenant.

Some buildings are outside the regulations altogether:

  • buildings constructed in line with "relevant building standards", which are defined by reference to the standards in effect from 4 March 2002. The Scottish Government describes these as buildings that are already reasonably energy efficient;
  • buildings improved under a Green Deal plan;
  • buildings outside the 2008 EPC regulations under their regulation 4(a): temporary buildings planned for two years or less, and workshops and non-residential agricultural buildings with low energy demand.

What is a section 63 Action Plan?

An Action Plan is a certificate setting out a programme of measures to improve the building's energy performance and reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. It must be prepared and issued by a section 63 advisor, a qualified member of an approved organisation, after an assessment that uses the energy performance data behind a valid EPC for the building.

Where improvement measures are identified, the Action Plan must set out:

  • the identified improvement measures;
  • an energy performance target and an emissions target;
  • the building improvement measures the advisor recommends, which must be enough to meet both targets;
  • whether operational rating measures, the deferral route, are to be implemented; and
  • the date the compliance period expires.

On a sale or letting, the owner must make a copy of the most recent Action Plan available for inspection by prospective buyers or tenants and give a copy to the buyer or tenant. The Scottish Government's summary says provision of the Action Plan is all that is required to enable marketing of the property. Action Plans and DECs are lodged on the Scottish EPC Register.

After the Action Plan, do you improve or defer?

The owner then chooses one of two routes.

Improve. Complete the building improvement measures in the current Action Plan before the compliance date. The compliance period is 42 months from the date the first Action Plan is issued.

Defer. Instead of doing the works, implement operational rating measures: hold a valid Display Energy Certificate for the building and display it where people using the building can clearly see it. A DEC reports the building's actual measured energy use, and under the section 63 rules it is valid for one year from its nominated date, so it has to be renewed every year. While a valid DEC has been in place continuously since the first one was issued, the deadline for the works moves: the compliance date becomes the first date on which there is no valid DEC.

Timing matters for the deferral route. A later Action Plan issued 12 months or more after the first can only choose operational rating measures if the first DEC was issued within 12 months of the first Action Plan and a valid DEC has been in place ever since. There is more on DECs in display energy certificates explained.

What are the penalties under section 63?

Every local authority in Scotland is an enforcement authority for the section 63 regulations. The penalty charge is £1,000 for failing to make an Action Plan available to a prospective buyer or tenant, and £1,000 for failing to complete the building improvement measures in time (regulations 22 and 24 of SSI 2016/146, legislation.gov.uk, checked 19 October 2026). For the Action Plan duty, a penalty can only be given if the owner has failed to make the plan available within 9 days of a request.

What changes under the Energy Performance of Buildings (Scotland) Regulations 2025?

Separately from section 63, Scotland is replacing its EPC rules. The Energy Performance of Buildings (Scotland) Regulations 2025 (SSI 2025/417) revoke the 2008 Regulations, subject to transitional provisions, and extend to Scotland only. For non-domestic buildings they will:

  • replace the single rating with three: an energy performance rating, an energy use rating and a direct emissions rating;
  • make an EPC valid for 5 years from the date of issue, or until a newer EPC is issued if sooner;
  • replace the recommendations report with a property report, which includes measures to improve the building and their estimated costs;
  • require adverts for sale or let in commercial media, including online adverts and written particulars, to state the energy performance indicators.

As made, the regulations let an existing valid EPC issued under the 2008 rules be used for a sale or letting up to and including the first sale or letting after 31 October 2026, and no later than 31 October 2027. That transition does not apply to newly constructed buildings.

The start date is moving. Regulation 1, as published on legislation.gov.uk, says the regulations come into force on 31 October 2026, apart from a few provisions that started on 1 January 2026. A draft Energy Performance of Buildings (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2026 would change that to 30 April 2028 and push the transitional dates back to match (30 April 2029 for the sale and letting window). The Scottish Parliament's Economy, Tourism and Energy Committee, in a report published on 7 October 2026, recommends that Parliament approve the draft. The delay follows the UK Government's decision to move its own EPC reform to the second half of 2027. At the time of checking, legislation.gov.uk still lists the amendment as a draft that has not been made, so confirm which date applies before you rely on it.

The section 63 regulations are a separate instrument. They define an EPC, and test whether it is valid, by reference to the 2008 Regulations that the 2025 Regulations revoke. If a sale or letting falls around the changeover, ask the section 63 advisor how the Action Plan will be produced. EPC validity in England and Wales is covered in how long a commercial EPC is valid.

Sources

Common questions

Does a commercial building under 1,000 square metres in Scotland need an Action Plan?

No. The section 63 regulations only apply to non-domestic buildings and building units with a floor area of more than 1,000 square metres. A smaller building still needs a valid EPC when it is sold or let.

Is there an EPC E minimum for letting commercial property in Scotland?

The band E minimum comes from regulations that apply to England and Wales, so it does not apply in Scotland. For larger buildings, section 63 sets building-specific energy and emissions targets in an Action Plan instead of a single minimum band.

Who can produce a section 63 Action Plan?

Only a section 63 advisor, who is a qualified member of an approved organisation. The Scottish EPC Register has a search facility for EPC assessors, section 63 advisors and DEC assessors.

Does renewing a lease with the same tenant need a new Action Plan?

No. Renewing an existing lease with the same tenant is an exempt transaction under the section 63 regulations. A lease to a new tenant, or a sale, is what triggers the duty.

If I defer with DECs, can the works be put off indefinitely?

The regulations move the compliance date to the first date on which there is no valid DEC, so the deferral lasts only as long as a valid DEC has been in place without a gap since the first one. If a DEC lapses, the building improvement measures fall due.

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