If you’re the landlord of a commercial property, you need to make sure your tenant is legally responsible for the cost of any damage they make to the property during their tenancy. Any works that need doing for which the tenant is legally responsible are called dilapidations.
Before the lease start date, you’ll want to get an RICS Chartered Surveyor to complete a Schedule of Condition, which sets out the current state of the property. At the end of the lease, you may want to consider getting another dilapidations survey to find out if your tenant has made any damage or changes which need reinstating. Alternatively, if you’re a tenant and have been given a Schedule of Dilapidations (the document that lists the works you’re required to do) you can get a Chartered Surveyor to conduct a dilapidations survey for you if you think the claims are unfair.
A dilapidations survey can be helpful to a landlord for the following reasons:
Responsibility: you ensure that the tenant lives up to their responsibility to pay for any damage or unauthorised alterations they have caused.
Limit Loss: you need to ensure the tenant’s responsibilities for maintenance are included in the lease, otherwise you might not be able to claim compensation for damages at the end of the tenancy.
Insight: you want to asses the condition of the property prior to leasing it to a new tenant, otherwise the new tenant may dispute your claim regarding damage by saying that it was present when they moved in.
A dilapidations survey can be helpful to a tenant for the following reasons:
Saving: your landlord can claim compensation on financial cost as well as repairs, so you may want to get a better priced dilapidations survey
Control Works: by taking the initiative to undertake repairs, you can hire cost-effective builders rather than reimbursing the landlord for a more expensive contractor.
Prevent Disputes: a surveyor can provide you with the information you need to negotiate with your landlord to avoid court claims and legal penalties. Your surveyor can help you settle disputes outside of court via Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and this can involve mediation, arbitration, etc.
Dilapidation surveys are usually commissioned by landlords, but they can also benefit tenants. The surveyor will assess the condition of each room and cover various elements, including ceilings, walls, floors, windows, doors, electrics, heating, appliances, etc.
A before and after schedule of condition survey report helps the landlords at the time when they want a contract of new leasing to ensure that the lease agreement clearly includes the tenant’s responsibilities in order to maintain the property. At the end of lease, the owner(s) can use the report to make sure that the tenant has complied with their obligations. In order to make a claim against the occupant you need a Chartered Surveyor to prepare a Schedule of Dilapidations which set out damages and indicative costs of any necessary repair or renewal work.
The landlords aren’t allowed to gain profit when they issue a Schedule of Dilapidations to the tenant; they are only allowed to claim money in order to compensate them for either the cost of repairs or any other sort of financial loses that would and this could include the following:
Your surveyor will also ask you what your plans for the property are when your tenant’s lease has expired. For example, if you will be doing significant changes and alterations to the property, the tenant need not have to pay for such costs. You must be honest about what you plans are because if you’re not and the tenant realises this they can come back to you to complain and recover costs. If you’re a landlord who needs to determine your tenant’s dilapidations responsibilities or if you’re a tenant that feel that you have been unfairly issued with a Schedule of Dilapidations then we can help. We can given you advice and quote if necessary. Call today.
We can help you decide if a dilapidation survey is required and what to do. Our panel of expert dilapidations surveyors are on standby to assist and can give you independent and impartial advice on your situation. They have worked for both landlord and tenants in helping them reach an amicable agreement without the need for going to court. Please contact us and our team will help you.
