CHARTERED BUILDING SURVEYORS

Leases and Commercial Properties

Dilapidations

When a lease comes to an end the landlord should normally expect to get his property back in good condition, and ready to be let again. So it's important that both landlords and tenants understand what they have to do under the terms of the lease.

We can advise both landlords and tenants on the repairs that are needed, and the costs that each of them will need to pay.

Normally the landlord prepares the dilapidation schedule, which will list the areas of disrepair the tenant is responsible for, and how much the repairs are likely to cost.

Tenants can either get the work done themselves, to the satisfaction of the landlord's surveyor, or pay the estimated costs directly to the landlord.

Sometimes these costs seem a little high when tenants actually look at the work required. In that case we can act on behalf of the tenant - and we can often negotiate substantially lower costs.

Schedule of Condition

This is a document that can be attached to a new lease to limit a person's liability for dilapidations. For example, it might record the poor condition of the walls or windows. This would mean that when the tenants leave they can prove they weren't responsible for this defect.

We could prepare a Schedule of Condition before work starts on a party wall, so there's a clear record of the condition of the next door property likely to affected by the intended work. With this it's easy to find out if the work has caused any damage.