We are delighted to have received instructions to provide dilapidations advice to a Lessee of a retail unit in Reigate.
Our Client has been served a Schedule of Dilapidations which the Landlord’s surveyor costed and valued at a significantly higher sum than the Lessee deemed fair or reasonable. This situation is common and therefore we will undertake a full review of the lease documentation and the Schedule of Dilapidations which sets out the Landlords’ requirements and provide our Client with advice on their options.
It is important when a lessee receives a schedule of dilapidations that they deal with the dilapidations’ claim pro-actively. We always advise that the lessee takes professional advice to determine the validity of the claim in terms of the elements claimed and the quantum. To assess a claim it is important to ensure that all the relevant lease documentation is made available to the surveyor to review. This will include the lease, any sub-leases, licences for alterations or schedules of condition or any other legal documentation that may have a bearing on the dilapidations’ claim.
We would also recommend that professional advice is sought as early as possible which often increases the lessees’ options. Lessees have the opportunity to undertake dilapidations works until the lease end and beyond the lease expiry they have no legal right of access to do any works. If the lessee can undertake the works that are deemed required before the lease end it is often financially beneficial to them. If the lessee has control of the costs there is more of an incentive on the lessee to obtain competitive prices than there is for landlord to achieve the lowest costs once the lease has expired if they undertake the works.
Early engagement of a surveyor will allow a lessee to retain some control of the dilapidations claim and provide them with options to mitigate their potential losses. At Tim Greenwood and Associates we have extensive dilapidations experience in both preparing schedules of dilapidations and providing dilapidations advice for both landlords and tenants to assist our clients in achieving the best outcome from a dilapidations claim.
