AB 1103 is the Energy Benchmarking initiative that requires owners of non-residential buildings of at least 5,000 gross square feet in size to provide certain energy usage and energy efficiency information to prospective buyers, tenants and lenders.

SB 1186 requires that commercial lease agreements executed on or after July 1, 2013 must include a provision disclosing whether the premises have been inspected by a Certified Access Specialist and, if so, whether the property has been determined to meet all applicable federal and state construction-related disability accessibility standards.

• The CEC is not enforcing the AB 1103 requirements until September 1, 2013. Buildings exceeding 50,000 gross square feet in size has been extended to September 1. The 2014 phase-in dates for smaller buildings (January 1, 2014 for buildings larger than 10,000 square feet and July 1, 2014 for all buildings greater than 5,000 square feet) remain unchanged.

• Manufacturing buildings are not included. Industrial buildings used for manufacturing (as evidenced by an occupancy permit building use classification of Group F) will not be required to comply with the AB 1103 disclosure requirements.

• Vacant Buildings. The CEC will require AB 1103 disclosures if there has been some energy use (such as security lighting and air conditioning) during the prior 12 months.

• Lease Renewals. If the original lease was executed before the AB 1103 disclosure requirements applied, AB 1103 disclosures to the tenant will be required upon a lease renewal.

ADA SB 1186 does not mandate the performance of an accessibility compliance inspection. The legislation is a means of assuring that tenants are informed as to whether one has taken place and, if so, the results. to incentivize compliance.

The disclosure requirements will have landlords deciding whether an ADA inspection is to their benefit for their particular situation. Points to consider include:

• Date of construction or updates (those constructed after January, 2008 likely comply due to building code requirements).

• Exposure or likelihood of litigation claims (public accommodations such as retail, restaurants and service businesses are more commonly targeted).

• Exposure risk of litigation if an inspection was performed.

• The means to identify the extent of accessibility deficiencies and the costs of corrective work, and the opportunity to budget for and perform corrective work over time based on inspection results.