Landlord and Tenant Matters

Dilapidations

Often confused by the public as referring to a building in a dilapidated state of repair, ‘Dilapidations’ in surveying terms refers to breaches of specific repairing lease covenants in a long leasehold interest of a property.

Normally at or near the end of a commercial lease a Landlord will serve notice on a Tenant informing them of their expectations for the Tenant to repair, redecorate, comply with statutes and reinstate before ‘yielding up’ the property back to the Landlord with vacant possession. We prepare the documents for Landlords setting out those obligations in a Schedule of Dilapidations for the Landlord’s solicitor to serve on the Tenant. We will often then be asked to either monitor that the Tenant’s works comply with the lease requirements or negotiate financial settlement in lieu of repair.

Equally, if a Tenant has received a Schedule of Dilapidations, we can act for the Tenant to negotiate a settlement with the Landlord’s surveyor.

Sometimes we are asked by Landlords to prepare Interim Schedules of Dilapidations or Wants of Repair mid-lease term if a Landlord is concerned a Tenant is not complying with their lease obligations and the Landlord is concerned their reversionary interest is being prejudiced with their property falling into disrepair.

If you require this service, our fee structure for Dilapidations work is normally charged on a time charged or basis based on the predicted time expenditure.

To speak to a Chartered Surveyor to obtain a quote for your project, please call 020 7606 0043 or email office@finleyandpartners.com

Licence for Alterations

In a typical long lease there will be restrictions on what alterations the Tenant may undertake without Landlord permission. For alterations that do require Landlord permission, assuming an informal approach by the Landlord is not accepted, a formal Licence for Alterations is normally drawn up by the Landlord’s solicitor before the work can be started.

As surveyors to either the Landlord or the Tenant, we agree to review the plans and specifications to highlight areas of concern to the Tenant’s designers. Once resolved, we then agree to undertake Schedule of Condition surveys of the properties or areas that might reasonably be affected by the work, before works commence. This safeguard’s both parties’ interests in the event of damage claims by third parties during the work. We then provide input on the wording of the draft licence to assist the solicitors. Post works we can revisit the site to check the work has been performed as per the licence and also check the adjoining properties for signs of damage attributable to the work.

If you require this service, our fee structure for Licence for Alterations work is normally charged on a time charged or basis based on the predicted time expenditure.

To speak to a Chartered Surveyor to obtain a quote for your project, please call 020 7606 0043 or email office@finleyandpartners.com

Condition Survey

Not to be confused with a Building Survey of a property prior to its acquisition, a Condition Survey is a detailed survey and report describing the condition of a building’s structure and fabric, but not providing the further depth of a Building Survey Report which explains the causes of recorded defects or recommending repair or costs associated with the same. It is a pure detailed description exercise of a property.

Most often we are asked to provide written and photographic Schedules of Condition as evidence to a property’s condition ahead of a commercial lease and is appended to the lease for both parties’ reference at a later date when the matter of Dilapidations arises.

If you require this service, our fee structure for Condition Survey work is normally charged on a lump sum basis based on the predicted time expenditure.

To speak to a Chartered Surveyor to obtain a quote for your project, please call 020 7606 0043 or email office@finleyandpartners.com