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Do you need an EPC for one unit in a shared building?

Updated 19 October 2026 · SEO Dons Editorial

If you sell or let one unit in a shared commercial building, that unit needs a valid EPC, provided it is designed or altered to be used separately and is heated, ventilated or cooled. What changes from building to building is which certificate can be used: a whole-building EPC, an EPC for the unit itself, or one based on a similar unit. Shared heating is usually what decides it. For the general triggers, see do I need a commercial EPC?

When does a unit count as a separate building?

For EPC purposes a building includes a building unit. Regulation 2 of the Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012 defines a building unit as "a section, floor or apartment within a building which is designed or altered to be used separately".

The government's guide to EPCs for non-dwellings explains what that looks like in practice. Separate use can be indicated by the accommodation having its own access, separate heating and ventilation, or shared heating and ventilation that the occupier can control independently. It adds that a part can still be separate even if facilities such as kitchens and toilets are shared, and gives a unit in a shopping centre or a floor in an office building as examples.

The unit also has to be a building in the EPC sense, meaning energy is used to condition its indoor climate. The guide notes that a shopping centre unit which does not share the mall's conditioning, and has no heating of its own or ability to have it, does not require an EPC.

Can a whole-building EPC cover my unit?

Often, where the building has a common heating system. Regulation 9 allows certification for building units to be based on a common certification of the whole building for blocks with a common heating system. The non-dwellings guide puts it simply: if a building has a common heating system, an EPC may be prepared for the whole building and used for any part when sold or rented out.

That is a permission, not an obligation. The guide also says it is permissible to prepare an individual EPC for a part of a building if required. A landlord letting one floor of a centrally heated office block can therefore rely on a valid whole-building EPC, or commission one for the floor if a separate rating is more useful.

One trap: an EPC is only valid if it was lodged within the last 10 years and no newer EPC for the building has since been lodged. Check the register for both the building and the unit before relying on either.

What if the unit has its own heating?

Then the unit normally needs its own EPC when it is sold or let. For a block with independent heating, the guide's worked example shows one EPC for each separate building unit when sold or rented out, with communal areas not included in that calculation. A single EPC for the whole building is only used when the building is sold or rented out as a whole.

The same pattern runs through the guide's examples for shopping centres and blocks of industrial units. Where a centre or block has independent heating, it is permissible to provide EPCs for each unit plus an EPC for the conditioned communal areas, or one EPC for the whole building when it is sold or let as one. Retail units are covered on the retail shop EPC page.

A whole parade or block does not always need a full survey of every unit. The guide says certification for units in blocks can be based on the assessment of another unit in the same block. Whether one unit is representative of another is down to the energy assessor's judgement, and they need to visit a sufficient sample of units to check.

Which EPC counts for MEES when there are several?

A multi-let building can end up with a whole-building EPC and separate unit EPCs, sometimes with different ratings. The government's detailed non-domestic MEES guidance (February 2017) addresses this directly. Where the property let is a discrete space, and there is an EPC for the whole building and one for that space, the relevant EPC for MEES is the one for the discrete space. Where there is only a whole-building EPC, and an EPC for the space is not legally required, the building EPC is the relevant one.

The minimum standard itself is unchanged: at least EPC E to let, and from 1 April 2023 that also applies to existing lettings, unless a valid exemption is registered.

Who needs the EPC: the landlord or a tenant who sublets?

Whoever is letting. Under regulation 2, the person responsible when a building is to be rented out is the prospective landlord. That is usually the owner, but the non-dwellings guide is clear that sub-letting a building also requires an EPC, and that the assignment of a lease, where a leasehold interest passes to someone else, is treated like a sale.

So a tenant who sublets part of its floor is the landlord for that sublet and needs a valid EPC covering the space. Existing occupiers who are not transacting do not: the guide says existing occupiers and tenants will not require an EPC unless they sell, assign or sublet their interest. Lease renewals, extensions and surrenders are listed among transactions that are not treated as a sale or letting.

Occupiers also have a duty to help. The guide says everyone with an interest in, or in occupation of, the building must cooperate with a seller or prospective landlord and allow access to any energy assessor they appoint.

Does splitting or merging units trigger an EPC?

It can, without any sale or letting. Regulation 7A applies where a building is modified so that it has more or fewer parts designed or altered for separate use, and the work includes providing or extending fixed heating, hot water, air conditioning or mechanical ventilation. The person carrying out the work must give an EPC to the owner not later than five days after completion.

A refit on its own does not trigger this. The guide says an internal refit with new heating, hot water, air conditioning or mechanical ventilation would not trigger the requirement unless the building is also converted to comprise more or fewer parts for separate use. More on works-driven EPCs is in refurbishment, extensions and new EPCs, and buildings with flats above a commercial unit are covered on the mixed-use EPC page.

If you are about to let or sell a unit and are not sure which certificate covers it, check what triggers the requirement and use the form on this page to request quotes from accredited assessors.

Sources

Common questions

My unit shares the building boiler but has its own thermostat. Is it a separate unit?

It can be. Government guidance says shared heating that the occupier can control independently is one sign of a part designed to be used separately. Because the heating is common, a valid whole-building EPC can be used for it when it is let.

Do common parts such as corridors and receptions need their own EPC?

Not as a separate requirement when a single unit is let, and unit EPCs leave communal areas out of the calculation. Where units have independent heating and the whole building is sold or let, the guide allows EPCs for each unit plus one for the conditioned communal areas, or one EPC for the whole building.

Can the next tenant of my unit use the same EPC?

Yes, while it is valid. GOV.UK says EPCs are valid for 10 years, and the regulations add that a certificate stops being valid once a newer EPC for the same building or unit is lodged on the register.

Does a tenant need an EPC to renew their lease?

No. The non-dwellings guide lists lease renewals or extensions among transactions that are not treated as a sale or letting. MEES is a separate question for the landlord, because the EPC E minimum applies to existing lettings from 1 April 2023.

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