In today’s Property Surveying blog, we are going to be discussing property dilapidations.
Property dilapidations are required as the landlord and tenant approach the end of the contractual lease term for the subject property.
Property dilapidations can characterised and explained as the necessary costs that a tenant will incur upon the expiry of the lease, and in advance of departing the property itself.
What are Dilapidations?
Dilapidations are the breaches that the tenant causes to the landlord’s property during the course of their occupancy and tenancy.
What are the Different Types of Dilapidations?
Generally speaking, there are three different types of dilapidations that the dilapidation protocol sets out and deals with.
These can be categorised into three distinct categories: Redecoration, Reinstatement and Repairs.
Redecoration
Redecoration will be required to ensure that the property is left in a reasonable and fair state of repair upon the expiration of the tenant’s contract with the landlord.
In many cases, the tenant is naturally going to cause a fair amount of wear and tear, as well as decorative imperfection to the property.
The wording of the lease will ensure that the landlord is not left in a position whereby they then need to unreasonably decorate and yield up the property to a suitable tenantable condition for the marketing or new incoming tenant.
Reinstatement
During the course of the tenant’s occupancy, it is highly likely that they will adjust and alter the layout of the property to suit their commercial needs.
This could be as simple as installing partitions, or potentially more complex such as air-conditioning units, specialist lighting systems, specialist alarms, or telecommunication systems.
As with the redecorations requirements, a tenant will be required to ensure that the property is handed back to their landlord in no lesser state of repair than when they took it.
This will often mean that they need to remove all of the alterations that they have undertaken to the property.
While these alterations may suit their needs perfectly as a business operator, it is highly likely that the landlord will want the property back in a white box format.
Repairs
The final breach is known as repair.
A tenant’s lease will require them to ensure the property is maintained and repaired as if it were their own.
The conventional wording in England and Wales is a fully repairing and insuring lease.
A fully repairing and insuring lease will ultimately mean that the tenant is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the property as a whole, often both internally and externally.
This is often very easily overlooked by tenants, as they will often spend the largest proportion of funds on the internal parts of the property, noting that in many cases their customers or clients will have the main footfall and traffic through those sections.
Tenants should not overlook the fact that they will also need to repair and upkeep external parts of the property such as roofs, gutters, walls and structures.
Again, by ensuring that this is introduced into leases, landlords will ensure that they are not left with substantial and hefty repair costs at the end of the tenant’s occupancy and lease.
Dilapidations are one of the key services that we provide clients on a daily basis here at Stokemont.
If you would like to discuss your dilapidations requirements with our team of experienced and qualified RICS building surveyors, please feel free to contact us today, and we will be more than happy to assist and advise you.
