Landlords operating a communal heating supply must act now!
Landlords of both commercial and residential buildings (including anything from small residential and commercial developments all the way to blocks of flats and shopping centres) which are heated, cooled or supplied with hot water from a central source and which have more than one tenant, each of which is paying for communal heating or cooling supplied by the landlord, may well be caught by the Heat Network (Metering and Billing) Regulations 2014. These regulations require landlords to provide technical details of the heating system or network to the National Measurement & Regulation Office no later than 31 December 2015, and where applicable metering equipment must be in place within one year thereafter. For communal heating systems first commencing operation after 31 December 2015, the notification must be completed on or before the first date of operation.
Landlords will have a duty to install and maintain meters to monitor individual consumption, unless they can present a good case to show why it would not be feasible or cost-effective. For new buildings, meters must be installed from the start.
If you believe that you may fall within the regulations, you should act now in obtaining help to complete the notification process before the deadline of 31 December 2015.
If you would like any more information in relation to this article then please feel free to contact me via email: panayiota.ioannou@bowlinglaw.co.uk.
