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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →A dilapidation survey records alleged breaches of a commercial lease’s condition obligations and the work or financial loss a landlord says may follow. It is not, by itself, proof that every listed item is recoverable. The lease, alteration consents, notices, evidence of the property’s condition and the landlord’s actual plans determine what can be claimed.
This guide applies to commercial property in England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland use different legal and procedural regimes. It explains the difference between a survey, a Schedule of Dilapidations and a Quantified Demand, the usual 56-day protocol periods, the limits on repair damages, and the practical steps for both parties.
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What a dilapidation survey covers
“Dilapidations” describes alleged breaches of lease covenants concerning a commercial property’s condition during the tenancy or when the tenant leaves. A landlord or its surveyor may inspect the premises and prepare a Schedule of Dilapidations. The schedule normally identifies the alleged breach, the lease obligation said to be broken, proposed remedial work and, where relevant, an estimated cost.
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- Repair: failure to keep the building, structure, services or external areas in the condition required by the lease.
- Reinstatement: failure to remove alterations, fixtures or tenant installations and put the premises back as required by the lease or an alteration licence.
- Redecoration: failure to redecorate at the required intervals or at the end of the term.
- Legal or compliance work: failure to carry out works required by a lease covenant, such as specified statutory-compliance measures.
- Yielding-up obligations: failure to return the premises, keys, equipment or documentation in the condition and manner required at expiry.
The label “dilapidations survey” does not create an obligation. The lease and related documents do. A surveyor must therefore read the lease, schedules, licences for alterations, side letters, notices and any agreed record of condition before deciding whether an item is a breach.
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HMRC’s business-income manual uses “dilapidations” in a tax context for repair or reinstatement work for which a lessee is liable where the lease makes the lessee responsible for repairs and for delivering up the property in the required state. That description does not replace analysis of an individual lease or determine the tax treatment of a particular payment.
Schedule, Quantified Demand, Response and Scott Schedule
These documents perform different jobs and should not be treated as interchangeable.
| Document | What it does | Typical content |
|---|---|---|
| Schedule of Dilapidations | Lists alleged breaches and the work said to remedy them. | Lease clause, description of defect or omission, proposed works, and costings where relevant. |
| Quantified Demand | Sets out the landlord’s alleged likely financial loss after the lease ends. | Legal basis for recovery, loss calculation and supporting material. It need not equal the gross cost of every listed work. |
| Response | States the tenant’s position on the schedule and/or quantified demand. | Item-by-item admissions, disputes, evidence, alternative scope or explanation of why a loss is not recoverable. |
| Scott Schedule | Provides an expanded, negotiated comparison of both parties’ positions. | Each item, landlord’s case, tenant’s response, agreed or disputed status and sometimes figures. |
A terminal schedule sent before expiry should be confirmed or updated at termination. A landlord’s later demand should reflect the loss it is actually likely to suffer, not simply add every estimated work cost together.
What landlords should do
1. Establish the contractual baseline
Start with the executed lease and every document that modifies it. Mark the repairing, decorating, reinstatement, compliance and yielding-up clauses. Check alteration licences for specific removal obligations, any schedule of condition, licences to assign or sublet, licences for works, notices and correspondence that may have varied or waived a requirement.
A schedule of condition can materially limit a repairing obligation, but its effect depends on the lease wording. Do not assume that a tenant must improve the premises beyond the condition recorded at commencement unless the covenant says so.
2. Inspect and separate the alleged breaches
Use a suitably experienced building surveyor to inspect safely and document each item with photographs, measurements and a clear location. Separate repair, reinstatement, redecoration and other categories. For every item, identify the relevant lease clause and explain the work needed to remedy that particular breach. A generic instruction to “make good” is harder to evaluate and negotiate.
3. Consider the property’s real end-of-term plan
The landlord’s intentions matter to the loss analysis. Before endorsing a terminal schedule, the landlord or its surveyor should consider whether planned refurbishment, redevelopment, demolition or structural alteration would supersede the proposed work. The Ministry of Justice Dilapidations Protocol expects the schedule endorsement to confirm that the landlord’s intentions were taken into account and that the works are reasonably required.
Work likely to be removed or superseded by the landlord’s own project should not be included in a Quantified Demand as though the tenant’s breach caused the full cost. Retain planning information, contractor scopes, board approvals, letting plans and other contemporaneous evidence that explains the intended use of the premises.
4. Serve the terminal schedule promptly
Under the Dilapidations Protocol, a terminal schedule should generally be sent within 56 days after termination. This is a procedural expectation governed by reasonableness and the circumstances; it is not an inflexible universal statutory deadline. If a schedule was issued before expiry, confirm or update it when the lease terminates.
5. Prepare a defensible Quantified Demand
The demand should identify the legal basis for recovery and the landlord’s likely loss. Distinguish the estimated price of works from the damages actually claimed. Include only losses supported by the lease, evidence and the landlord’s intentions. Keep invoices, tender returns, specifications, valuation evidence and records of works available so the calculation can be explained rather than asserted.
What tenants should do when a schedule arrives
1. Secure the documents and deadline
Record the date the Quantified Demand was sent, the lease termination date and any deadline stated in the Protocol correspondence. The usual period for responding to a quantified demand is 56 days after it is sent, subject to reasonableness and the particular case. A response should be requested or agreed in writing if the material is incomplete or the deadline cannot reasonably be met.
2. Test every item against the lease
Create an item-by-item review containing the alleged breach, the cited clause, the landlord’s proposed work and your evidence. Check:
- the exact repairing or other covenant and any limitation in it;
- the schedule of condition and commencement photographs;
- alteration licences, drawings and reinstatement wording;
- consents, waivers, licences, notices and correspondence;
- maintenance, cleaning and completion records;
- photographs, contractor reports and access records from the end of the term.
A defect visible on inspection does not automatically prove a breach. The landlord must connect it to an applicable covenant, and the claimed remedy must be proportionate to that obligation.
3. Distinguish work from loss
Challenge arithmetic that treats the schedule’s gross estimated works as the damages figure. Ask what work was actually required, whether it was carried out, whether the landlord’s project would have removed or altered it, and what financial loss the alleged breach caused. If the landlord relies on future works, request the scope and evidence supporting that intention.
4. Give a clear response
Address each item sufficiently for the landlord to understand whether it is admitted, disputed or accepted in part. Explain the contractual and factual reason, attach or identify supporting evidence, and propose an alternative scope or figure where appropriate. The Protocol says a response is not intended to have the same status as a court defence, but an unexplained blanket denial rarely helps negotiations.
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5. Obtain specialist advice early
RICS describes dilapidations assessment as complicated and says it would be normal to engage a chartered building surveyor experienced in dilapidations. A property solicitor can advise on lease interpretation, limitation, settlement wording and litigation risk. For a substantial claim, surveyor and legal advice should be coordinated so that the technical scope and legal position match.
How liability and damages are limited
The lease controls the duties
A schedule is an allegation, not a judgment. Liability depends on the wording of the covenant, the condition required, any agreed condition record, causation and the evidence. A landlord cannot recover an item simply because it appears in a survey, and a tenant cannot defeat a valid obligation merely by pointing to the document’s title.
Section 18(1) and repairing breaches
Section 18(1) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1927 limits damages for breach of a repairing covenant. In the statutory wording, damages “shall in no case exceed the amount (if any) by which the value of the reversion (whether immediate or not) in the premises is diminished owing to the breach of such covenant or agreement as aforesaid”.
In practical terms, the repair claim cannot exceed the diminution in value of the landlord’s reversion caused by the breach. The section also prevents recovery of repair damages where, at or shortly after termination, the property would have been demolished or structurally altered so that the repairs would have been valueless.
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Why the landlord’s intention matters
If the landlord planned a redevelopment that would remove the alleged defect, the tenant may argue that the work would not have delivered a real benefit or that the claimed loss is reduced. The argument must be supported by evidence of a genuine, sufficiently formed intention and by showing which items the project would supersede. It is not enough to speculate that a landlord might refurbish someday.
Planning before lease expiry
Do not wait for the keys to be returned. The UK Government’s preferred commercial lease terms suggest that, where possible, leases should allow an interim dilapidations schedule six to 12 months before expiry. That is a preferred-terms recommendation, not a rule overriding an existing lease.
Tenant pre-expiry checklist
- Obtain the complete lease, alteration licences, schedule of condition and notices.
- Map every reinstatement, repair, decoration and compliance obligation.
- Arrange an interim inspection by a dilapidations-experienced surveyor.
- Price and programme remedial work, allowing for landlord access requirements and statutory controls.
- Ask the landlord in writing whether it requires reinstatement or has agreed alternatives.
- Complete agreed work, retain photographs and certificates, and record items that cannot reasonably be completed before expiry.
RICS notes that reinstatement notices may need to be served before lease end. A tenant should therefore check notice clauses early rather than assume that handing back the premises ends every obligation.
Landlord pre-expiry checklist
- Review the lease’s inspection and notice rights and schedule an access visit.
- Issue an interim schedule where the lease or circumstances make that useful.
- Record the intended post-lease use and any planned refurbishment, redevelopment or demolition.
- Tell the tenant promptly if an agreed reinstatement solution or licence variation is being considered.
- Update the schedule at termination and preserve evidence of condition and intentions.
Resolving a dilapidations dispute
The Protocol’s objectives include “to encourage the exchange of early and full information about the dispute”. Early disclosure of the lease, schedules, photographs, specifications, cost evidence and development plans often narrows the disagreement more effectively than exchanging unsupported figures.
Negotiation between surveyors
Surveyors can compare each item in a Scott Schedule, agree factual matters and identify the few issues requiring legal or valuation input. Settlement terms should state whether payment resolves all claims, which works (if any) remain outstanding, and how VAT, interest and professional costs are treated.
Expert determination
The parties can appoint an independent expert to decide technical or valuation issues if their agreement or a later settlement provides for it. Check the expert’s jurisdiction, procedure, evidence rules and whether the decision is binding before signing.
Mediation and arbitration
Mediation uses a neutral facilitator to help the parties reach their own settlement. Arbitration places the dispute before an arbitrator under an agreed process and can be binding. The lease or a later agreement may specify requirements, so obtain legal advice before selecting a route.
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Court proceedings
Litigation should normally follow meaningful information exchange and attempts to settle. A court will examine the lease, breach, causation, loss and evidence; it will not simply adopt the schedule total. Material claims should be reviewed by a qualified property solicitor, particularly where limitation, redevelopment evidence or substantial reinstatement costs are involved.
Common mistakes and better alternatives
- Using a generic condition report: use a survey that cites each applicable lease clause and separates breach types.
- Assuming the schedule total is the claim: prepare or challenge a separate loss analysis.
- Applying section 18 to everything: reserve its diminution-in-value limit for repairing breaches and analyse reinstatement and decoration separately.
- Ignoring the landlord’s plans: obtain evidence of proposed works and identify items they would supersede.
- Missing the response period: diarise the usual 56-day period and seek a written extension where necessary.
- Starting work without agreement: preserve evidence and confirm scope, access and acceptance in writing before carrying out disputed works.
- Relying on verbal assurances: record waivers, consents and settlements in signed correspondence or a formal deed where appropriate.
When to instruct a professional
A chartered building surveyor experienced in dilapidations is normal professional support for both sides, particularly where the premises are large, heavily altered, technically complex or subject to a detailed schedule of condition. A legal adviser is important where the lease wording is disputed, a notice may be invalid, a claim includes non-repair obligations, redevelopment affects loss, or settlement wording could release future claims.
Use a professional who can explain assumptions, distinguish observed defects from contractual breaches and show how each figure was calculated. RICS provides a Find a Surveyor route; verify the individual’s current experience, scope of appointment and conflicts before instructing.
Geographic and procedural limits
This guidance is for commercial property in England and Wales and for terminal dilapidations claims covered by the Ministry of Justice Dilapidations Protocol. The Protocol’s 56-day periods are general expectations, not universal statutory time limits. Scotland and Northern Ireland have different legal and procedural regimes. For any live dispute, the lease and the facts of that property take priority over general guidance.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can a landlord charge for repairs after the lease has ended?
A landlord may pursue a claim after termination if the lease, breach and resulting loss support it. The schedule of works is not automatically the amount recoverable. For repairing breaches, section 18(1) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1927 limits damages to the diminution in value of the reversion and can prevent recovery where imminent demolition or structural alteration would make repairs valueless.
Is the 56-day period a statutory deadline?
No. The Dilapidations Protocol generally expects a terminal schedule within 56 days after termination and a tenant’s response within 56 days after a Quantified Demand, but each period is qualified by reasonableness and the circumstances. Check the correspondence and obtain advice if more time is needed.
Do I need a dilapidations surveyor?
For a material or disputed claim, specialist help is prudent. RICS says the assessment can be complicated and that engaging a chartered building surveyor experienced in dilapidations would be normal. Legal advice may also be needed on lease interpretation, notices and settlement.
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