CRC - new BPF consultation paper

In June 2009, the British Property Federation launched a guide to the forthcoming Carbon Reduction Commitment - see Carbon Reduction Commitment - BPF Guide. After due consideration, the BPF has today published a CRC industry-wide consultation paper, the primary purpose of which is to explore whether a cross-industry consensus can be reached on how the costs of the Carbon Reduction Commitment (or, to give it its full name, the Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme) should be apportioned between landlords and tenants in new leases. The underlying (or indeed overriding) aim of the consultation is to try to arrive at standard lease clauses to deal with CRC, to avoid property lawyers and others involved in the industry from having to wade through pages of firms' own preferred CRC draft clauses.

This month’s CPI Update, to be published on December 31, will contain a full review of how CRC will affect commercial property matters when the scheme comes into operation in April 2010, will comprehensively digest the important issues raised in the consultation paper, and will explore the drafting issues involved. However, for those with a requirement for some light Christmas reading in the meantime, the consultation paper, together with the original BPF Guide, can be downloaded by clicking on CRC Industry Consultation and following the link to the relevant PDF documents. The consultation period concludes on February 5, 2010.