For prospective tenants and buyers
Your rights
The Commercial Building Disclosure (CBD) Program requires energy efficiency information to be provided in most cases when commercial office space of 1000 square metres or more is offered for sale or lease.
As a prospective tenant or buyer, you have the right to see the building’s energy efficiency information—in the form of a valid, current Building Energy Efficiency Certificate (BEEC)—as early as possible in the transaction enquiry process. If you ask for this information, it must be provided free of charge.
BEECs include the building’s National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS) Energy for offices star rating and a Tenancy Lighting Assessment (TLA) of the relevant area of the building. The Energy star rating must also be included in any advertising for the sale, lease or sublease. The higher the rating, the more energy efficient the building.
Section 12 of the Building Energy Efficiency Disclosure Act 2010 details the process for requesting a BEEC from the seller or lessor of the building.
Why is it important?
The CBD Program makes it easier for you to buy or rent more energy efficient office space because it provides consistent and meaningful information about a building’s energy efficiency performance. The Australian Government Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources collects and publishes this information in our Building Energy Efficiency Register to provide credible and comparable energy efficiency and greenhouse emissions data. This is creating a more informed commercial property market and encouraging more energy efficiency buildings and reduced emissions.
Benefits of working in a more energy efficient building can range from improved productivity to reduced operational costs. See more about the benefits for prospective tenants and buyers. For further information on how to manage energy use efficiently, see the NABERS Energy management guide for tenants.
Find a rated building
You can search our Building Energy Efficiency Register to view the BEECs prepared for listed buildings.