Blog · Compliance Guide

The Commercial Property Compliance Calendar: Every Inspection Interval in One Place

28 October 2026 · 6 min read

A wall planner calendar in a white office with coloured markers across the months, a fire extinguisher and certificate on the wall beside it

Key takeaways

Annual: fire risk assessment review, extinguisher service, gas safety inspection, and alarm and emergency lighting servicing.
Around every two years: the legionella risk assessment review, with monitoring in between.
Every five years: the EICR for most commercial premises and the TM44 air conditioning inspection.
Every ten years: the EPC, with the minimum E rating checked well before any sale or letting.

Most compliance failures are not decisions. They are dates that nobody owned. The extinguisher service lapsed because the contractor changed, the EICR was due in the year the facilities manager left, the EPC expired a month before the re-let. Running compliance as one calendar, rather than seven separate reminders, is the single cheapest improvement most buildings can make. Here are the intervals, where they come from, and how to put them together.

Annually

Fire risk assessment review. The Order requires regular review and review on change; annual is the norm. See fire risk assessment.
Fire extinguisher service to BS 5306-3, with extended service at five years (ten for CO2). See extinguisher servicing.
Fire alarm and emergency lighting. Periodic servicing by a competent contractor, with monthly in-house tests recorded in the log book.
Gas safety inspection of appliances, pipework and flues, recorded on a CP17 or CP42. No fixed commercial interval in law; annual is the accepted standard. See gas safety.
Air conditioning servicing and F-Gas leak checks, with frequency set by the refrigerant charge.

Around every two years

Legionella risk assessment review. ACoP L8 requires review when things change and at regular intervals; two years is common practice, with monthly or quarterly monitoring of temperatures and outlets in between. See legionella.
PAT testing of moveable equipment in offices, with IT equipment on longer intervals and harsher environments on shorter ones. HSE sets no fixed interval. See how often to PAT test.

Every five years

EICR. The accepted interval for most commercial premises, shorter for industrial, leisure and higher-risk uses, and the previous report states the recommended date. See EICR frequency.
TM44 air conditioning inspection for systems over 12kW, required at least every five years. See air conditioning.
Extinguisher extended service at five years for most types.

Get every date in one go

The free compliance check lists every duty on your property and gets you a quote for each, so the calendar starts from one visit.

Start the free check

Every ten years, and on events

EPC. Valid for ten years, but the minimum E rating is checked at every letting, so look at it well before a lease event. See commercial EPC.
Asbestos. The management survey is done once; the register and plan are reviewed regularly, commonly annually, and a refurbishment survey is needed before any works. See asbestos surveys.
Planned maintenance survey. Not a statutory interval, but a PPM survey every three to five years keeps the capital programme honest.

Running it as one calendar

Put every duty in one register with the last date, the next date, the contractor and where the certificate is filed. Align visits where one contractor can do two things: EICR and PAT testing, extinguishers and alarm servicing, gas and air conditioning. Review the register at one fixed point each year, ideally before the insurance renewal, because that is when someone will ask. Our guide to a statutory servicing schedule shows how a maintenance contract can carry the whole programme.

Starting the calendar

If you are starting from nothing, the free compliance check gives you the list of duties for your building and a quote for each, so the first round of inspections can be booked together and the dates fall out of that.

Sources & further reading

HSE: PAT, answers to popular questions — no fixed interval for portable appliance testing
HSE: Legionnaires’ disease, ACoP L8 — review of the legionella assessment
GOV.UK: air conditioning inspections for buildings — the five-yearly TM44 requirement
GOV.UK: find an energy certificate — EPC validity and the register

External links open in a new tab. ComSurv is a matching service, not a firm of surveyors, and is not affiliated with these organisations. This article is general information, not legal, surveying or valuation advice; take advice on your specific situation.

Frequently asked questions

How often does a commercial property need a fire risk assessment?+

It must be reviewed regularly and whenever the premises or their use change. Annual review is the accepted norm, with a fresh assessment after any significant change.

How often does a commercial building need an EICR?+

Typically every five years for offices, shops and similar premises, and more often for industrial, leisure and higher-risk uses. The previous report states the recommended interval.

How often is a TM44 air conditioning inspection required?+

At least every five years for systems with a combined output over 12kW, under the Energy Performance of Buildings Regulations.

How long is a commercial EPC valid?+

Ten years, but the minimum E rating to let is checked at each new letting and for continuing lets, so the rating matters before the certificate expires.

How often should a legionella risk assessment be reviewed?+

Whenever the system or its use changes and at regular intervals; every two years is common practice, with routine monitoring of temperatures and outlets between reviews.