Do I need a TM44 Inspection certificate and who is the responsible person to ensure compliance with the Regulations?

When do buildings require a TM44 Inspection certificate?

Buildings in England and Wales require a TM44 Inspection certificate if it has an installed cooling capacity larger than 12kW.

Part 4 of The Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) Regulations 2012, refers.

To comply, all qualifying buildings need to be in possession of a valid TM44 inspection certificate and report.

The TM44 inspection certificate and report need to be lodged on the Governments Landmark Register.

Air Conditioning systems with a comfort cooling capacity larger than 12kW required a first inspection by 4 January 2011.

Air conditioning systems commissioned on or after 1 January 2008, required a first inspection within five years of commissioning date.

The TM44 inspections need to be conducted every 5 years.

Buildings with multiple split type units installed with a total cooling capacity larger than 12kW, needs a TM44 inspection.

Clarifying who the responsible person is to ensure compliance with the Regulation

The person who has both technical and financial control is seen as the operator and the responsible person.

Ownership of an air conditioning system alone does not identify the operator.

Operator means the natural or legal person exercising actual power over the technical functioning of the air conditioning system.

Actual power over the technical functioning of the air conditioning system should be understood as including all the following elements:

free access to the system and providing access to third parties to supervise its components and their functioning;

the control of the day to day functioning/running (e.g. take the decision to switch it on or off);

the power to decide on technical modifications, F-gases replaced in the system or have repairs carried out.

If all these elements are devolved by the owner or landlord to a third party (e.g. tenant) through contractual arrangements, then the authority of operator and the responsibilities attached to it should be deemed transferred to that third party, provided that such a transfer is compatible with national law.

If the above elements are only partially transferred, the responsibilities of operator should not be deemed transferred.

Penalties for non-compliance with the Regulation will be to the person recognised as the operator based on the contractual arrangements.

Depending on the terms of the contract, the FM or servicing company may accordingly become responsible under the Regulations.

In such cases the landlord and/or tenant retain a parallel duty to ensure the air conditioning inspection has been done.

The maintenance provider have a duty of care to inform landlords and/or tenants of their obligation to ensure compliance.

Does my building still require a TM44 air conditioning inspection if I recently replaced some key equipment?

TM44 inspections cover the total air conditioning, ventilation and control system, so if a component was replaced then the building would still require a valid TM44 inspection certificate and report.

The scope of the TM44 inspection includes maintenance practices, F-Gas inspection records and the F-Gas register.

Visit our TM44 page for more details.