Fit-Out Certification When Base Build Is Already Certified
A landlord has a BREEAM New Construction 2018 'Excellent' certificate for a 9,000 m² office base build. A single tenant now takes the whole building and commissions a category-B fit-out under BREEAM Refurbishment and Fit Out (RFO). The tenant's fit-out introduces a new 60-person meeting suite, additional WC provision, a revised lighting scheme, and a large glazed partition that reduces daylight to the core. The tenant wants to reference the base-build certificate to claim credits already achieved (e.g. transport, water, some pollution credits) and to avoid re-assessing them. The fit-out contractor asks whether the RFO assessment can simply 'inherit' the base-build score and add fit-out credits on top.
1. How should the assessor treat credits already achieved at base build when scoping the RFO assessment?
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RFO is a distinct assessment with its own scope, and it does not simply inherit the base-build score. However, BREEAM recognises that some issues are delivered by the base build and are outside the fit-out's control.
- Identify which issues are within the fit-out scope and which are base-build dependent. For base-build-delivered credits (e.g. transport links, some water and pollution items), the assessor may reference the base-build evidence where the RFO scheme permits, but must verify the evidence is still valid and applicable.
- Credits that the fit-out changes (daylight, lighting, internal water use, waste) must be re-assessed on the fit-out's own merits.
- The RFO certificate is scored on the RFO assessment, not by adding to the base-build percentage.
The assessor should map each RFO issue to 'fit-out controlled', 'base-build referenced', or 'not applicable', and document the rationale.
2. The glazed partition reduces daylight to the core. What is the assessor's obligation?
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The assessor must assess the as-designed fit-out, not the base-build condition. If the partition reduces daylight such that the relevant health-and-wellbeing daylight credit is no longer met, the credit must be marked as not achieved (or reduced), regardless of the base-build certificate.
- Request daylight modelling for the affected zones reflecting the new partition.
- Where the credit can no longer be demonstrated, record it as not achieved with a clear justification.
- Do not offset a lost fit-out credit against base-build achievements; each issue stands on its own evidence.
This is the core judgement: the base-build certificate does not immunise the fit-out from re-assessment where the fit-out changes the outcome.