Does Your Building Need a TM44 Inspection?

Does Your Building Need a TM44 Inspection?

If the air conditioning in your building adds up to more than 12 kW, yes. In England and Wales the law requires an inspection by an accredited energy assessor at least every five years, and the report has to be lodged on the government register to be valid. Several small split units often take a building over the line. Here is how to check, who is responsible and what happens if you don't have one.

The 12 kW test

The figure that counts is the effective rated output: the output the manufacturer states for continuous running. You will find it on the unit data plate or in the manual.

You don't judge each unit on its own. Where one person controls several units in a building, the law treats them as one system and the outputs are added together. Four 3.5 kW split units in a small office make 14 kW, so that office needs an inspection.

No data plates to hand? The government guidance gives rough floor areas for 12 kW of cooling: about 200 m² of general office, about 100 m² of office with a lot of IT equipment, and 150 to 250 m² of shop floor, depending on the display lighting. A building bigger than that with air conditioning throughout is likely to be over the limit.

Who is responsible

The duty sits with the person who controls the technical operation of the system. That is usually the owner, even when a maintenance contractor runs it day to day.

• On a full repairing and insuring lease, the tenant usually controls the system, so the duty is theirs.
• A tenant who installs their own units is responsible for those units.
• Where the landlord controls a central system and a tenant controls their own units, they are two separate systems. Each one is judged against 12 kW on its own.
• A facilities management company can be named as the controller, but the owner or occupier keeps a duty alongside it.

Occupiers of a building where the owner or manager controls the central plant are not liable for penalties on that system.

When it is due

A system first put into service on or after 1 January 2008 needs its first inspection within five years of that date. After that, inspections must be no more than five years apart.

When control of a system changes hands, the old controller must pass the latest report on. If the new owner or tenant doesn't get one, they have three months from taking control to get the system inspected. Ask for the report during the sale or lease: solicitors often ask for it anyway, and a missing report can slow a deal down.

What the inspection does and doesn't do

The assessor looks at the refrigeration equipment, the fans, filters and air handling, and the controls: set points, time schedules, zoning and sensor positions. They check whether the system is the right size for the cooling the building needs, and they review the maintenance records.

The report sorts the findings into faults to fix, improvements and good practice. The inspection doesn't clean anything or reset the controls, and the recommendations are advice, not legal requirements. Many of them cost very little, such as fixing time schedules that run the cooling all weekend.

A TM44 is not servicing and it is not an F-gas leak check. You still need those as well.

What happens if you don't have one

Trading Standards enforce the rules. Not having an inspection done, not keeping the report or not handing it on can bring a penalty charge notice, currently £300. Not showing the report to a Trading Standards officer within seven days of being asked carries a £200 penalty.

How to check if you already have a valid report

Since 6 April 2012, every report has to be lodged on the government's energy performance register to be valid. A lost report can usually be found by its reference number or the building address. If the latest one is more than five years old, it has lapsed and the system needs a new inspection.

What we need to quote

• The asset list, or photos of the data plates, with make, model and rated output
• Maintenance and F-gas records
• Floor plans
• A site contact and any access rules

We provide TM44 inspections for simple and complex systems (Level 3 and Level 4) across the whole UK, including Northern Ireland, from single shops to multi-site portfolios. Our assessors have carried out more than 300 TM44 inspections. The report is back within 5 working days once we have everything we need. If the building also needs a commercial EPC or a DEC, booking them together costs less because we save on travel.

Questions we get asked

Does a single split unit need a TM44? Only if its rated output is more than 12 kW, or it adds up with other units you control to more than 12 kW. One small unit in a small office usually doesn't.

We are a tenant. Is it our job or the landlord's? It depends on who controls the system. Check your lease: on a full repairing and insuring lease it is usually yours. Units you installed yourself are yours.

Which figure do we use from the data plate? The rated output the manufacturer states for the unit, not the power it draws. Send us photos of the plates and we will add them up for you.

We have just taken over a building and there is no report. What now? You have three months from taking control to get the system inspected. Send us the asset list and we will book it in.

More: TM44 air conditioning inspections, Display Energy Certificates, commercial EPCs and EPC B by 2031: what commercial landlords need to know.

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