We are pleased to have just received an instruction to review and advise upon a Schedule of Dilapidations served on our Client who is the Tenant of a retail unit in Brighton.
Our Clients’ lease is due to expire at the end of September and our Client has recently received a Schedule of Dilapidations from their landlord which was prepared by their landlords surveyors referencing our Clients’ lease obligations. The dilapidations claim set out in the Schedule of Dilapidations is extensive and includes items of reinstatement, repair, redecoration and statutory requirements along with professional fees incurred by the landlord and other costs. Our Client is concerned at the level of the sum being claimed from them for the commercial unit.
Our instructions from our Client are to review the lease and licence documentation, undertake a site inspection, review and report on the Schedule of Dilapidations served on them. In considering the dilapidations claim we will comment upon the validity of the elements of the claim and also the costs being claimed for those element. In addition to commentary on the elements of claim and their costs, we will provide strategic advice on the claim, setting out our Clients options and how to achieve the most cost effective resolution for our Client. There is still 2 months of the lease left to run and we will therefore advise our Client on their position and what action we would recommend they take. The options available to a tenant are to undertake the works prior to the lease expiry, agree a financial settlement with the landlord or a combination of the two.
