Dilapidations

Dilapidations are breaches of covenant contained in a lease to repair a building. Such breaches can take many forms, but a leaking roof or a broken window are two obvious examples.

Dilapidations are often wrongly considered by tenants as insignificant in comparison with rent, rates and service charges when they are seeking new premises.

However, the liability to repair can have serious financial implications and therefore the tenant must seek advice of a Chartered Surveyor on opportunities to avoid, limit or mitigate dilapidations before entering into a lease, or when a schedule of dilapidations has been served upon him.

This is a complex and contentious aspect of the landlord and tenant relationship. No two dilapidations claims can be identical because no two buildings are exactly the same, nor will the lease covenants or other circumstances necessarily be similar either. It therefore follows that as a tenant, it is always prudent to seek the advice of a Chartered Surveyor before contracting a new lease, or when served with a schedule of dilapidations in respect of an existing or historic lease.

The tenant should also check whether the surveyor or firm to be appointed has the expertise to advise on both the question of repair and the valuation of the claim for damages, if appropriate, under section 18(1) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1927, to avoid the need to instruct two separate surveyors or two separate firms.

All Dilapidations instructions are undertaken by our Managing Partner, John Kelly, who is an experienced practitioner in this complex field, and regularly acts for both landlords and tenants in providing advice relating to dilapidations either during the course of, or at the end of a lease. The aim is to provide a clear understanding of the parties repairing obligations and their responsibilities through dilapidations, which even on smaller commercial properties can involve substantial sums.

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