What are Dilapidations?
Since the onset of the recession and the banking crisis in this country many people have found it difficult to obtain credit which has resulted in bigger numbers of people opting to rent both commercial and residential property rather than purchase. One of the main issues tenants may have at the end of the lease when renting is disputes about deposit return. When you rent a property, you will typically have to put down a deposit of between one and two months' rent which will be held by the landlord as a deposit during the tenancy.
It's possible that when you wish to vacate a property, you will be served with a schedule of dilapidations. Dilapidations are essentially breaches of covenant to repair a building contained in a lease. Such breaches can take many forms, but broken windows or a leaking roof are two obvious examples. Dilapidations are often wrongly considered by tenants as insignificant in comparison with rent, rates and service charges when they are seeking new premises. There are two main types of dilapidations, firstly interim dilapidations that are usually served during the course of the lease. A landlord will present a tenant with an interim dilapidation to let them know that they aren't complying with the obligations set out in the lease, in the landlord's opinion and these need to be resolved. A typical example might be the painting of the premises by the tenant during the term. A good landlord would be correct in serving his interim dilapidations particularly if the property was in a state of complete disrepair when an inspection took place.
The other type is known as final schedule of dilapidations. This type is served right at the end of the lease. It is extremely common for this to be served on a tenant even if the property had not been damaged in any way and is in good state of repair and condition. Of course, many landlords that justifiably use a schedule of dilapidations because a property has been damaged and is in need of repair. Dilapidations are a complex and contentious aspect of the landlord and tenant relationship. No two dilapidations claims can be identical because no two buildings are exactly the same, nor will the lease covenants or other circumstances necessarily be similar either. Both landlord and tenants should always seek the advice of a Chartered Surveyor before contracting a new lease, or when served with a schedule of dilapidations in respect of an existing or historic lease
