BACKGROUND: We have a project that is an office building pursuing LEED-CS 2009 certification. The C&S was substantially complete within the last several weeks. The tenant fitouts for about 2/3 of the building will be complete in the next two months. The remaining areas are currently unleased.
THE QUESTION: Are we required to replace the temporary MERV-8 filters in the central AHUs (part of the C&S scope) with MERV-13 after substantial completion of the C&S scope, even though the building won't technically be occupied until the first tenant fitout is complete? The filters would likely get gummed up from construction dust and need to be replaced by the time occupants are actually in the building. However, we don't want to miss the window to replace the filters and potentially lose the credit for not doing it soon enough. Any guidance on this? Perhaps this query belongs in EQc5, but seems more appropriate here.

Thanks in advance for any guidance.