Dilapidations Surveys
Advice on repair liability under a lease, for landlords preparing a claim and for tenants responding to one. Schedules of dilapidations, costed responses and negotiated settlements across prime London.
What dilapidations are.
Dilapidations are the works a tenant is liable for under the repairing, decorating and reinstatement covenants of a lease. The liability usually crystallises at lease end, when the landlord sets out the alleged breaches in a schedule of dilapidations, typically with a costed demand attached.
Ekron prepares interim and terminal schedules for landlords, and responds to schedules served on tenants. Both instructions rest on the same discipline: a careful reading of the lease and any licences for alterations, a thorough inspection, and a realistic view of what the claim is actually worth.
What’s included.
Terminal schedules
Prepared at or near lease end and served with a quantified demand, following the Dilapidations Protocol.
Interim schedules
Served mid-term where disrepair needs addressing before the lease expires.
Tenant responses
A costed, item-by-item rebuttal of the landlord’s schedule, in Scott schedule format.
Section 18 advice
Where the diminution in the value of the landlord’s interest caps the claim below the cost of the works, we say so, with reasoning.
Negotiation & settlement
Most claims settle without proceedings; we negotiate to a documented conclusion.
Who instructs us.
Commercial landlords
Recovering reinstatement costs on offices, retail and mixed-use premises.
Commercial tenants
Facing a served schedule, or planning an exit ahead of a break date or expiry.
Residential freeholders
Where long-lease repairing covenants have not been kept.
Managing agents
Instructing schedules and responses across a managed portfolio.
How an instruction runs.
Lease review
Repairing, decorating, reinstatement and yield-up covenants, plus any licences for alterations.
Inspection
Every item of claim or defence photographed, located and assessed against the lease.
Schedule
Prepared in Scott schedule format with costings, then served, or submitted in response.
Negotiation
Exchanges under the Dilapidations Protocol, aimed at settlement rather than litigation.
Conclusion
A documented settlement; where proceedings do follow, the file is already in order.
The measure of a dilapidations claim is often not the cost of the works. Where the landlord intends to refurbish or redevelop, the statutory cap can reduce a claim substantially, and sometimes to nothing.
Frequently asked.
What is a schedule of dilapidations?
A schedule of dilapidations is the document in which a landlord sets out the breaches of a tenant’s lease covenants, the remedial works required and, usually, the cost claimed. It can be served during the lease (interim) or at its end (terminal).
When should a tenant start thinking about dilapidations?
Ideally twelve months before a break date or expiry. Early advice lets the tenant choose between doing the works, negotiating a settlement, or challenging the claim, on their own timetable rather than the landlord’s.
Does the landlord always recover the cost of the works?
No. Damages are capped at the reduction in the value of the landlord’s interest caused by the disrepair, and where the landlord intends to refurbish or redevelop shortly after lease end, the recoverable sum can fall well below the cost of the works.
Do you act for landlords or tenants?
Both, though never on opposite sides of the same dispute. Acting for each side in turn is what keeps our costings and our negotiating positions realistic.
How does a schedule of condition affect a dilapidations claim?
A schedule of condition agreed at lease entry records the state of the property as found, and a well-drafted lease limits the tenant’s repairing obligation to that standard. It is the single most effective cap on a future claim.
Other services our clients ask for.
Schedule of Condition
A photographic and written record of a property’s condition at a defined point in time, prepared by an RICS Chartered Surveyor. Used…
Learn more →RICS Home Survey in London.
Independent RICS Level 2 (HomeBuyer) and Level 3 (Building) surveys, prepared personally by a RICS Surveyor.
Learn more →RICS Home Survey Level 2
A Level 2 Home Survey, formerly called the HomeBuyer Report, is the middle of the three RICS survey products. It is a…
Learn more →A claim tested, not just totalled.
Tell us the property, the lease dates and whether a schedule has been served. We come back with a scope and a fee the same working day.