TM44 and Commercial Property Service Charges: Can Landlords Recover Inspection Costs from Tenants?

In commercial property management, TM44 inspections often create one difficult question before the inspection is even booked: who pays?

For a simple owner-occupied commercial building, the answer is usually straightforward. The building owner or business operator arranges the TM44 air conditioning inspection, pays for the report and keeps the certificate on file. But in a multi-let office building, retail park, managed business centre, mixed-use property or serviced office, the answer can become much less clear.

A landlord may control the central air conditioning plant. A tenant may own separate split systems inside its demised area. A managing agent may arrange building services through the service charge. An FM contractor may hold the F-Gas records. The previous TM44 certificate may have covered the whole building, but the current instruction may exclude one floor because that system is now the tenant’s responsibility.

That is where TM44 becomes more than a compliance task. It becomes a service charge, lease responsibility and cost recovery issue.

This guide explains how TM44 inspection costs are usually approached in commercial property service charge situations, what landlords and managing agents should check before arranging an inspection, and why clear scope is essential when landlord and tenant air conditioning systems are mixed.

This is practical guidance only. Service charge recovery depends on lease wording and the facts of the building. Landlords, tenants and managing agents should take legal advice where required.

What Is a TM44 Inspection?

A TM44 inspection is an air conditioning energy assessment for qualifying non-domestic buildings with air conditioning systems above the relevant cooling capacity threshold. The inspection reviews the efficiency, condition, control and operation of the air conditioning system and results in a formal report with recommendations.

The aim is not just to issue a certificate. A proper TM44 report should help the responsible party understand whether the air conditioning system is being used efficiently, whether controls are suitable, whether maintenance appears adequate and whether there are practical opportunities to reduce energy waste.

For any commercial building with qualifying air conditioning, the starting point is understanding the TM44 legal requirements for commercial buildings. In a managed property, that legal requirement then needs to be connected to the lease, the service charge structure and the building’s actual air conditioning asset list.

The inspection may cover central plant, VRF or VRV systems, packaged units, chillers, AHUs, fan coil units, split systems and other cooling equipment, depending on the building layout and installed systems. The problem is that the legal need for a TM44 inspection does not automatically answer the commercial question of who should pay for it.

Why TM44 Costs Become a Service Charge Issue

Commercial service charges are used to recover certain property management and building operation costs from tenants. Depending on the lease, this may include cleaning, security, maintenance, repairs, insurance, management fees, statutory compliance, mechanical services and professional costs.

TM44 inspection costs can fall into this discussion because they relate to statutory compliance, air conditioning systems, building services and energy performance. If the air conditioning plant forms part of the landlord-controlled building services, the inspection may be treated differently from a tenant-installed system serving only one demised area.

The better question is not simply: does the building need TM44?

The better question is: which systems are being inspected, who controls them, who benefits from them and does the lease allow the landlord to recover the cost?

If the inspection relates to landlord-controlled central plant serving common parts or multiple tenant areas, it may be easier to treat the cost as a service charge item, subject to the lease. If the inspection relates to tenant-owned equipment serving only one tenant’s premises, the cost may sit with that tenant instead. If the systems are mixed, the scope may need to be separated before the inspection is booked.

This is why landlords and managing agents should avoid ordering a vague whole-building inspection without first checking the actual system responsibility. A clear TM44 certificate is only useful if it reflects the correct inspection scope.

Is TM44 a Landlord Cost or a Tenant Cost?

There is no single answer that applies to every commercial property.

In many managed buildings, the landlord or managing agent arranges the TM44 inspection where the landlord controls the air conditioning system. This is common in multi-let office buildings with central plant, landlord-maintained VRF systems, AHUs, shared condensers, rooftop equipment or systems serving reception areas, corridors, common parts and multiple floors.

However, tenants may be responsible for their own systems if they installed, maintain and control separate air conditioning equipment within their demised premises. This is common in retail units, restaurants, clinics, office suites, showrooms and buildings where tenants have added their own comfort cooling over time.

Where the responsibility is unclear, landlords and agents should review the practical position alongside the lease. The wider issue of TM44 landlord tenant responsibility is especially important in multi-let buildings because one property may contain both landlord-controlled and tenant-controlled equipment.

In practice, responsibility usually depends on who owns the air conditioning equipment, who controls and operates it, who maintains it and what the lease says about compliance and service charge recovery.

If the landlord controls the system and the lease allows recovery of statutory compliance or mechanical services costs, the TM44 inspection may potentially be recovered through the service charge. If the tenant controls the system and the landlord has no maintenance or operational responsibility, the tenant may need to arrange its own inspection where the system qualifies.

The Lease Is the Starting Point

For any service charge recovery question, the lease is the starting point.

A landlord or managing agent should check whether the lease allows recovery of costs connected to statutory compliance, air conditioning plant, mechanical services, energy assessments, common parts, professional fees, inspections and management costs.

Some leases contain broad wording that allows recovery of costs incurred in complying with statutory obligations affecting the building. Others are more restrictive. Older leases may not mention TM44 specifically because the requirement may not have been front of mind when the lease was drafted.

That does not automatically mean the cost cannot be recovered. It means the cost must fit within the wording of the lease.

For example, if a lease allows the landlord to recover the cost of inspecting, maintaining and complying with legal obligations relating to landlord plant, a TM44 inspection of landlord-controlled AC plant may be easier to justify. If the lease only allows tightly defined service charge items and does not cover this type of compliance inspection, the position may be less clear.

This is why managing agents should check the lease before booking inspections across a portfolio, especially where tenants may later challenge the cost. A property manager dealing with several buildings should also maintain a clear compliance calendar and use a structured TM44 portfolio management approach to avoid missed renewal dates.

TM44.uk can help clarify the technical inspection scope, but legal interpretation of recoverability should be checked by the landlord’s solicitor, managing agent or lease advisor.

Landlord Systems vs Tenant Systems

The most important practical step is to separate the air conditioning assets into categories.

Landlord-controlled systems may include central chillers, rooftop plant, landlord VRF or VRV systems, AHUs, fan coil units serving common areas, reception cooling, corridor cooling, landlord plant rooms and systems maintained through the landlord’s mechanical contract.

Tenant-controlled systems may include split units installed by a tenant, local condensers serving only one demise, tenant-maintained cooling in offices, retail trading areas, server rooms, treatment rooms, hospitality areas or private meeting rooms.

Shared systems are more complicated. A central system may serve several tenant areas. A rooftop condenser bank may serve multiple floors. A chiller may support both common parts and tenant space. In those cases, it may not be obvious who should pay until the asset register, lease plans and maintenance responsibility are reviewed.

Where tenant systems are excluded from a TM44 inspection, that exclusion should be clearly stated before the quotation is accepted. This protects the landlord, the managing agent and the assessor. It also helps avoid later disputes over why a floor, unit or system was not included in the report.

This is also why the TM44 inspection cost can vary between buildings that look similar from the outside. One building may have a simple landlord-controlled system. Another may have mixed tenant systems, incomplete records, roof plant, internal units across several floors and complex access arrangements.

Why Old TM44 Certificates Can Create Confusion

Many landlords and managing agents start by sending the previous TM44 certificate. This is useful, but it should not be treated as the full current scope.

A previous certificate may show the last inspection date, certificate number, total cooling capacity, assessment level, assessor details, floor area and a basic equipment summary. However, it may not show whether the same equipment is still installed today.

Since the last inspection, the building may have changed. Tenants may have moved in or out. Floors may have been refurbished. Split systems may have been added. Old units may have been removed. A tenant may have taken responsibility for a floor that was previously included in the landlord’s report. A central system may have been replaced. A plant room may now contain different equipment.

This matters because TM44 reports are not just historic paperwork. They should reflect the building and systems being inspected at the time of the current assessment.

If the landlord wants to recover the inspection cost through the service charge, it is even more important that the scope is accurate. Tenants may challenge costs if the report appears to include equipment outside the landlord’s responsibility or exclude systems without explanation.

For this reason, old certificates should be used as a starting point, not the final answer. If you are unsure whether a building has a current certificate, you can use the TM44 checker before requesting a full quotation.

Documents to Gather Before Requesting a TM44 Quote

Before requesting a quote for a managed commercial building, landlords and managing agents should gather as much information as possible.

The most useful documents are the previous TM44 certificate and report, the current air conditioning asset register, recent F-Gas leak inspection records, maintenance and service reports, O&M manuals, tenant responsibility schedules, lease plans, access notes and details of any recent system upgrades or replacements.

These documents help the assessor understand the likely inspection scope and provide a more accurate quotation. They also help the managing agent support any service charge treatment.

If information is missing, the inspection can often still be quoted based on the information available, but the quotation may need to state that the scope is subject to review if the actual installation differs materially from the information provided.

For a more structured approach, landlords and facilities teams should keep a proper TM44 compliance file with the key documents needed to support inspection, quoting, renewal and audit queries.

When requesting a price, it is also useful to understand what information is needed for a TM44 quote, especially if the building has multiple tenants, excluded floors, shared plant or incomplete asset records.

Can the Cost Be Split Between Tenants?

In some buildings, yes, but it depends on the lease and the building structure.

Where landlord-controlled air conditioning serves multiple tenants, the cost may be allocated through the normal service charge percentage or floor area apportionment. In other cases, costs may be allocated only to the tenants who benefit from the relevant system.

For example, if one VRF system serves only one wing of a building, and another system serves a different area, it may not be appropriate to charge all tenants equally unless the lease supports that structure. If a chiller serves the entire building, a wider service charge allocation may be more appropriate.

Where a tenant has its own independent system, the landlord may decide to exclude that equipment from the landlord TM44 inspection and advise the tenant to arrange its own compliance assessment. This avoids mixing landlord and tenant costs.

The main point is that TM44 cost recovery should follow the building’s actual system arrangement. The more accurate the asset information, the easier the cost allocation becomes.

A good managing agent will not only ask whether a TM44 inspection is legally required. They will also ask whether the report covers landlord systems, tenant systems, common systems or shared systems.

Common Mistakes Landlords and Managing Agents Make

The first mistake is assuming that a previous TM44 certificate automatically covers the current building. It may not.

The second mistake is failing to separate landlord systems from tenant systems. This can cause service charge disputes and unclear compliance records.

The third mistake is relying only on the maintenance contractor’s word that everything is compliant. F-Gas checks and planned maintenance are not the same as TM44. They may support the inspection, but they do not replace it.

The fourth mistake is booking an inspection without confirming exclusions. If the first floor, a retail unit or tenant server room is excluded, the assessor needs to know before quoting and before attending site.

The fifth mistake is treating TM44 as a low-value admin task. In reality, it is a statutory compliance matter that can affect landlords, tenants, managing agents, due diligence, lease events, insurance reviews, ESG reporting and property transactions.

A properly scoped TM44 inspection creates a better compliance record and reduces the risk of argument later.

Case Study Example: Multi-Let Office Building With Mixed Responsibility

A managing agent is responsible for a four-storey multi-let office building. The landlord maintains the reception, common areas, rooftop plant and central VRF system serving the ground, second and third floors. The first floor tenant has installed its own separate air conditioning system and maintains it under its own contractor.

The previous TM44 certificate covered the whole building five years ago. Since then, the first floor tenant has carried out a fit-out and replaced several units. The managing agent now needs a new TM44 inspection but wants to exclude the first floor from the landlord’s inspection because that system is the tenant’s responsibility.

In this situation, the correct approach is not to copy the old certificate scope without checking anything. The managing agent should provide the previous TM44 report, the current asset register, F-Gas records and a clear note confirming that the first-floor tenant systems are excluded.

The quotation should clearly state that the inspection relates to landlord-controlled systems only, based on the information provided. If the landlord intends to recover the cost through the service charge, the managing agent should check the lease wording and ensure the charge is consistent with the systems inspected.

This approach protects the landlord, the managing agent and the tenants. It creates a cleaner compliance record and reduces the risk of later dispute.

Case Study Example: Retail Park With Tenant AC Units

A landlord owns a small retail park with several units. Each tenant has installed its own split systems for shop floor cooling. Condensers are mounted externally, but each system serves only one retail unit. The tenants arrange their own servicing and F-Gas records.

The landlord asks whether one TM44 inspection can be arranged for the whole retail park and recovered through the service charge.

The answer depends on control and lease wording. If the landlord does not control or maintain the tenant systems, it may be more appropriate for each tenant to deal with its own TM44 requirement where the system capacity exceeds the threshold. The landlord may still have compliance duties for any landlord-controlled common plant, but tenant-only systems should not automatically be treated as landlord systems.

This is why retail parks, business parks and multi-let commercial estates need careful scope review before inspection.

Case Study Example: Serviced Office With Central Cooling

A serviced office operator occupies a full building and provides offices to multiple users under licence arrangements. The operator controls the air conditioning system, maintains the plant and manages the building services. In this type of structure, the operator may be the practical party responsible for arranging TM44 compliance, even though individual office users benefit from the cooling.

The cost may be built into wider occupancy costs rather than recovered as a traditional service charge. However, the principle remains the same: the party controlling the system should understand the TM44 requirement, keep records and arrange inspection before the certificate expires.

Serviced offices and coworking buildings often have complex cooling arrangements, so it is worth reviewing TM44 for serviced offices and coworking spaces if the building operates on flexible licences rather than traditional leases.

TM44, F-Gas and Maintenance Are Not the Same

One common source of confusion is the belief that F-Gas records or maintenance reports mean TM44 is already covered. They do not.

F-Gas records focus on refrigerant leak checking and refrigerant-related compliance. Maintenance reports focus on servicing, condition and operation. TM44 focuses on the energy performance and efficiency assessment of the air conditioning system.

These records are connected, but they are not interchangeable.

A well-managed commercial building should ideally have a current TM44 report, current F-Gas records and recent service documentation. If the building has no clear F-Gas information, landlords and managing agents may also need to review F-Gas leak testing alongside the TM44 process.

This is important for service charge management because tenants may wrongly argue that an existing maintenance contract already covers TM44. In most cases, it does not unless TM44 inspection and government lodgement are expressly included.

How TM44 Supports Better Service Charge Management

A clean TM44 process can improve service charge management because it creates a clearer record of the building’s air conditioning assets.

It can help identify whether systems are oversized, poorly controlled, inefficient, poorly documented or missing from the asset register. It can also help managing agents separate landlord systems from tenant systems and understand whether further documentation is needed.

For landlords and managing agents, this is useful beyond the inspection itself. A clean TM44 record can support lease events, property sales, refinance checks, insurance reviews, compliance audits, ESG reporting and planned maintenance decisions.

A TM44 inspection may also highlight energy saving opportunities. In larger buildings, inefficient cooling can increase electricity costs, create comfort complaints and undermine wider energy performance objectives. Where recommendations are made, landlords and managing agents can decide whether any improvement works should be reviewed through the service charge, capex planning or maintenance budget.

How TM44.uk Helps Landlords, Managing Agents and Property Managers

TM44.uk helps commercial landlords, managing agents, FM providers and property managers arrange TM44 air conditioning inspections across the UK.

We can assist with reviewing previous certificates, checking likely inspection scope, separating landlord and tenant systems where information is available, providing clear quotations, arranging site inspections, preparing draft TM44 reports and lodging certificates on the government register after approval and payment.

We support single buildings, multi-let offices, retail properties, serviced offices, business parks, commercial estates, healthcare buildings, hospitality sites, education buildings and wider property portfolios.

If you manage several properties, it is sensible to organise renewals through a structured TM44 compliance schedule rather than waiting until certificates expire. For urgent or unclear cases, landlords and managing agents can request a TM44 quote with the previous report, current asset register and any known exclusions.

If the building has tenant-controlled systems, excluded floors or incomplete information, TM44.uk can help define the technical inspection scope. Legal recoverability through the service charge should still be checked against the lease.

Final Thoughts

TM44 inspections are not always complicated, but multi-let commercial buildings can make responsibility and cost recovery more difficult.

The inspection cost may be recoverable through the service charge in some cases, particularly where it relates to landlord-controlled plant, common building systems or compliance obligations covered by the lease. But it should not be assumed automatically. The lease wording, system ownership, maintenance responsibility and inspection scope all matter.

For landlords and managing agents, the best approach is simple: check the lease, identify the systems, separate landlord and tenant equipment, gather records and instruct the TM44 inspection with clear exclusions where needed.

That creates a cleaner compliance position, reduces disputes and helps ensure the building’s air conditioning inspection is properly scoped from the start.

TM44.uk provides nationwide TM44 inspections for commercial buildings and can support single-site, multi-let and portfolio requirements across the UK. To discuss a specific managed building or service charge-related inspection scope, contact the team through TM44.uk.