Canterbury & Kent
Dilapidations Surveyors for Landlords & Tenants
Dilapidations surveyors for landlords and tenants: schedules of dilapidations, lease-end claims and Section 18 advice across Canterbury, Kent and London.
Commercial Dilapidation Surveying in Canterbury, London, Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester & Cardiff
Usually, dilapidations surveys are requested by landlords. However, they can be of great benefit to tenants in numerous situations, too.
When a dilapidation survey is requested, a Chartered Surveyor conducts the assessment. This means that every inch of your property is taken into account. The Surveyor looks at all aspects of each room and its contents, including (but not limited to) the obvious major features like ceilings, walls, floors, and windows, as well as components like light fittings and loose electrics. They will also look at any neighbouring properties to make sure that the survey covers any issues that might (or might not) affect the surveyed property.
Before leasing a property, landlords may use a dilapidation survey to ascertain the property's condition. Once the tenancy has begun, if you are unhappy with a tenant's compliance to lease terms that ensure the maintenance of the property's condition, they may require a Schedule of Dilapidations to be prepared. This is done if the leaseholder hasn't left the property in good condition. If your property seems to have suffered damage while a tenant has occupied it, a Schedule of Dilapidations can be created only if the tenant is first found to be in violation of the lease agreement terms that guarantee the property is well-maintained.
Tenants can request compensation based solely on the cost to remedy the faults with the property—or any other grievances they may have, such as: issues with neighbouring properties, service interruptions, etc., but the question of when to serve a notice to quit, if at all, must be resolved first because, once the notice is served, you're on a 90-day countdown to the end of the tenancy.
Between here and there, and in considering the amount of money to ask for, the surveyor must also consider the landlord's future plans for the property—especially if the landlord has any plans that might cause the tenant to lose the property before the service of the notice to quit at the end of the tenancy.
What is a Commercial Dilapidation Survey for?
Surveys of this sort help protect landlords and tenants legally. They are primarily done on commercial properties, but surveyors can do them on residential properties as well. They resolve disputes between residential property owners and their tenants better than any other method.
If you have leaseholders, ensure that they meet their obligations: there is always the chance that your leaseholders will do something to your property that you wouldn't do, such as a change that you would want undone. If they do, they need to have a legal duty to put things back the way they were before.
Can Money be made in Commercial Dilapidations?
You may not be able to recover the money your leaseholder owes you for damages at the end of the lease if your lease agreement doesn't explicitly state that the leaseholder has to keep up maintenance and repairs.
It's key to have your property inspected and to have repairs made (if needed) before your leaseholder moves in. If your property requires maintenance or repair, you should document everything, so it can't be claimed by your leaseholder that they did this at the time that they were living at the residence.
Both landlords and tenants can benefit from the legal protection that dilapidation surveys offer. Although these surveys are most often conducted on commercial properties, they can just as easily be performed on residential structures. Indeed, when either landlords or tenants need a legal framework to resolve their disputes, it's likely that the services of a surveyor—which fall under the Dilapidations Protocol; hence the name 'dilapidation' survey.
Advantages of a Dilapidation Survey for Commercial Landlords
Makes sure your leaseholders live up to their part of the arrangement. If they don’t, you could be exposed to repairs costs. These are some ways a dilapidation surveys can help keep you from taking the hit.
Assess the situation. With a commercial dilapidation survey, you know what’s going on with your property and what condition it’s in. You have a legal obligation to maintain the repairs some of which may have been done by your leaseholder. If the condition is terrible and you haven’t heard of them before, you need to be able to point them to the survey.
Maintaining records that your property has been inspected is one of the first things you should do. If you can not prove that your lessee was responsible for any damages, then you stand to lose out on that money you could have collected otherwise.
Advantages of a Dilapidation Survey for Tenants
If you're a commercial tenant, if you're thinking about entering a commercial lease, or if you're negotiating a commercial lease renewal, you might want to consider the above.
A dilapidation survey can help you avoid unnecessary claims at the end of your lease and can help you control repair work over the course of your lease and especially at the end of your lease. "In favour of tenants" does not mean that dilapidation surveys are biased toward tenants. It means they serve tenants' interests.
Controlling legal expenses: it can cost a fortune to argue over a sum that is already yours. You may engage a chartered surveyor to render a report on the state of the building beforehand.
As tenant, you have the option to make repairs and remove alterations on your own before receiving a Schedule of Dilapidations. This allows you to use contractors who are a great deal cheaper than those typically favoured by your landlord, but what if you don't have the time, energy, or inclination to pursue this? Or, what if your landlord is threatening to act pre-emptively and has already begun the lamentable process of sending out your Schedule of Dilapidations? If this is happening to you, what do you do next?
Most disputes are settled before reaching court. Your surveyor might help you find out how to settle the dispute.
How to Reach Us
If you are a landlord needing to establish your tenant's dilapidation liability or a tenant who feels that your dilapidation liability has been unfairly represented, we can assist you with either situation. Call us for guidance, or to set up a complimentary session during which we can offer a free quotation.
Dilapidations explained
Dilapidations are breaches of the repairing, decorating, reinstatement and statutory compliance covenants in a lease. The word is used loosely to mean the claim itself — the schedule a landlord serves setting out what is wrong and what it will cost to put right.
The three kinds of schedule
- Interim — served during the term, requiring the tenant to remedy breaches while the lease continues.
- Terminal — served at or near the end of the term, listing the works required at expiry.
- Final — served after the lease has ended, when the claim becomes one for damages rather than for works.
The Dilapidations Protocol
The Pre-Action Protocol for Claims for Damages in Relation to the Physical State of Commercial Property governs how these claims are run. The landlord serves a schedule endorsed by a surveyor confirming the works are genuinely required, the tenant responds, and the parties are expected to negotiate before any proceedings. Failure to follow it has costs consequences.
The section 18 cap
Section 18(1) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1927 limits damages to the amount by which the breaches have actually diminished the value of the landlord’s reversion. Where the landlord intends to redevelop or substantially refurbish, that diminution may be nil regardless of what the schedule says. This is where most well-advised dilapidations claims are won and lost, and it is why a tenant should always take advice before paying a schedule at face value.
Ranges below are typical UK market fees for the work described, shown so you can budget. They are not a quotation. We give a fixed, written fee for your specific property before any work starts.
| Service | Typical fee |
|---|---|
| Schedule of dilapidations, small unit | £800 – £1,500 |
| Schedule of dilapidations, larger premises | £1,500 – £4,000 |
| Response and negotiation for a tenant | £1,000 – £3,000 |
| Diminution valuation under section 18 | £1,200 – £3,000 |
Frequently asked questions
What are dilapidations?
Breaches of a tenant’s repairing, decorating and reinstatement obligations under a lease, and the claim a landlord brings in respect of them.
What is a dilapidation survey?
An inspection of the demised premises against the lease covenants, producing a schedule of the breaches and the cost of remedying them.
Do I have to pay a dilapidations claim in full?
Rarely. Claims are routinely reduced by the section 18 cap, by challenging items that are improvement rather than repair, and by the schedule of condition if one was annexed to the lease.
Related commercial valuation
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