New empty rates legislation will have an impact on commercial property investors, according to the British Council of Offices (BCO).
Its chairman Mat Oakley explained that while most commercial properties have a tenant in place and a revenue stream attached, buying a vacant property means investors have to go out and find someone to occupy it.
He said that before the new empty homes legislation was introduced, commercial property investors would be offered relief on rates for a period of time if their building was empty.
But this relief has now been removed and commercial property investors will need to apply "diligence" when selecting their assets in the future, Mr Oakley warned.
"If you were to buy an empty property you start paying rates from day one, so you have a cost whether or not you have an income," he remarked.
The BCO has also predicted a "continual softening" of commercial property values this year and into 2009.
Its forecast followed data from Investment Property Databank which revealed that commercial property values fell by two per cent in June.
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