Commercial Property Compliance: Which Certificates You Need

Commercial gas work falls under the same Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 as residential, but the certificate is different and so is the engineer.

A **CP42** is the commercial equivalent of the domestic CP12. It must be carried out by an engineer holding **commercial** Gas Safe qualifications — a domestic ticket does not cover commercial catering equipment, commercial boilers or plant.

This catches out restaurants and takeaways in particular. A domestic engineer cannot lawfully certify a commercial kitchen, and a certificate issued by one is not valid for the premises.

Annual inspection is the standard, and your insurer will almost certainly require it. Commercial gas safety from **£30 inc VAT** for meter-only, rising with the number and type of appliances.

Here the difference from residential is significant.

A rented home has a fixed maximum interval: five years. **Commercial premises do not.** The interval is set by the inspector according to the type of premises, how it is used, and the condition of the installation. In practice:

• **Offices, shops and similar low-risk premises** — up to 5 years
• **Industrial units** — typically 3 years
• **Construction site installations** — as often as every 3 months
• **Premises with heavy or specialised equipment** — commonly annual

The report itself specifies the next inspection date, and that date is the one that governs. A five-year assumption carried over from residential practice is a common and expensive mistake.

The underlying duty for workplaces comes from the **Electricity at Work Regulations 1989**, which require electrical systems to be maintained so as to prevent danger — a continuing obligation, not a periodic one.

Commercial EICR from **£159.99 inc VAT** for offices, shops, restaurants and industrial units, with out-of-hours testing available so you do not lose trading time.

Non-domestic MEES runs on a different timetable from residential, and the two are frequently confused.

Now: all privately rented non-domestic property in England and Wales must hold an EPC of band E or above — in force since April 2023.

From 2031: privately rented non-domestic buildings over 1,000 m² must reach EPC B, where cost-effective.

Under 1,000 m²: the band E minimum continues, with no further increase currently scheduled.

Two points worth noting. The **interim step to EPC C in 2027 has been dropped**, so if you have been planning around that, you can stop. And the residential deadline — band C by 1 October 2030 — **does not apply to commercial premises**. Mixing the two timetables up is the single most common error in commercial energy planning.

Commercial EPC from **£260 inc VAT**, lodged within 48 hours.

The **Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005** applies to virtually all commercial premises, and places the duty on the **responsible person** — normally the employer or whoever has control of the premises.

You need a **suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment**, carried out by a competent person and reviewed regularly. Where five or more people are employed, it must be recorded in writing.

Supporting obligations that typically follow from it:

• **Fire alarm testing** to BS 5839-1 — commercial systems, from £65 inc VAT
• **Emergency lighting** duration testing to BS 5266 — annual 3-hour test, from £65 inc VAT
• **Fire extinguisher servicing** to BS 5306-3 — annual, from £90 inc VAT

Commercial Fire Risk Assessment from **£159.99 inc VAT**, written report within 48 hours.

Enforcement sits with the Fire and Rescue Authority, and penalties under the Order are unlimited, with custodial sentences available in serious cases.

Unlike residential, where PAT testing sits in a grey area, workplaces have a clearer position: the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 require equipment to be maintained to prevent danger, and portable appliance testing is the established way of demonstrating it.

Frequency is risk-based. An office computer needs testing far less often than a hand tool on a building site or equipment in a commercial kitchen.

Commercial PAT from **£79.99 inc VAT**, with out-of-hours attendance and a same-day certificate.

This is worth settling before anything else, because commercial leases distribute these duties in ways that surprise people.

As a broad rule: the **freeholder or managing agent** is responsible for the structure, common parts and shared plant, and the **tenant or occupier** is responsible for their demise and their own equipment.

But a full repairing and insuring (FRI) lease can push almost everything onto the tenant, including obligations the tenant has never thought about. Read the lease rather than assuming — and if you are a tenant who has just signed an FRI lease on a pre-2000 building, read the asbestos clause especially carefully.

We cover commercial premises across all 32 London boroughs and the M25 corridor, with out-of-hours attendance so inspections do not cost you trading hours. Call 07426 409342 or book online.