Do not assume that every item or cost shown is automatically payable.
A Schedule of Dilapidations sets out the landlord’s position on alleged breaches of the lease. The first step is to review it against the lease, any Schedule of Condition, Licences for Alterations, the actual condition of the property and the landlord’s proposed remedy.
A tenant-side surveyor can then identify which items appear properly founded, which require further investigation and which should be challenged or negotiated.
If you have already received a claim, send us the Schedule, lease and supporting documents and we can advise on the appropriate next step.
Read our guide to responding to a Schedule of Dilapidations

No, not simply because the landlord has claimed it.
The headline amount may include alleged repair, decoration and reinstatement works, professional fees and other claimed losses. Each element still needs to be considered against the tenant’s actual obligations, the technical merits of the proposed remedy, reasonable costs and the landlord’s proper loss.
In our Essex industrial tenant case study, a landlord’s claim approaching £497,000 was ultimately settled at £100,000. In our Leeds office case study, a £140,000 claim was reduced by £77,000.
Those outcomes do not imply that every claim can be reduced by a similar percentage; each case depends on its own facts.

Yes, where there are legitimate technical, contractual or evidential grounds.
An individual item might be challenged because there is no relevant breach, a Schedule of Condition limits the tenant’s obligation, the proposed remedy is excessive, the claimed quantity or cost is unreasonable, or the landlord’s intended refurbishment affects the claimed work.
A credible tenant response should not simply reject everything. Properly founded items should be recognised while unsupported or disproportionate items are challenged with evidence.

There is no credible standard percentage reduction.
The strongest reductions usually come from scrutinising the claim item by item and establishing whether:
The tenant is actually liable
A genuine breach exists
The proposed repair is technically necessary
The scope represents repair rather than improvement
Quantities and costs are reasonable
The landlord intends to carry out the work
Landlord refurbishment creates supersession issues
Diminution or other limitations on loss are relevant
Our approach is to build the strongest technically supportable position rather than start with a target discount.

It depends on the circumstances.
Undertaking works can allow you to control the contractor, scope, programme and cost. It may be particularly appropriate where liability is relatively clear and sufficient time remains before expiry.
Negotiation may make more sense where the landlord intends substantial refurbishment, some of the claimed work may be superseded, liability is genuinely disputed or a financial settlement provides greater certainty.
The important point is to make the decision early enough to preserve both options.
Read more about negotiating commercial dilapidations.

Sometimes, but not always.
A tenant may be able to procure works more competitively than the costs included within a landlord’s claim, particularly where the works can be planned and packaged efficiently.
However, spending money on works that are not actually required, will immediately be removed by the landlord or do not satisfy the relevant lease obligation can be equally expensive.
We therefore recommend establishing what genuinely needs doing before appointing contractors.

The landlord may pursue a terminal dilapidations claim for relevant outstanding breaches after the tenancy ends.
Once you have returned possession, you may also lose the practical opportunity to carry out the works yourself. The issue will then generally need to be addressed through the landlord’s claim and subsequent negotiation.
If expiry is approaching, obtaining advice while you still occupy the property usually provides more strategic options.

For larger, complex or heavily altered premises, starting 12–24 months before lease expiry can be valuable.
That gives you time to understand likely liability, review reinstatement, obtain budgets, procure necessary works and discuss the landlord’s intentions before your options become restricted.
If you have already received a Schedule of Dilapidations, obtain advice promptly rather than waiting until the response period is nearly exhausted.
See our Tenant’s Checklist Before Vacating a Commercial Property Lease.

The answer depends on the lease.
Potential obligations can include repair, maintenance, decoration, removal of alterations, reinstatement of previous layouts, removal of tenant fixtures and making good damage caused by those removals.
The correct starting point is therefore the lease, any alteration documents, the original condition evidence and the current condition of the property.
A landlord’s preferred refurbishment specification should not automatically be treated as the tenant’s required standard.

Not simply because replacement is the landlord’s preferred solution.
A roof claim needs to be considered against the tenant’s repairing obligation, the actual nature and extent of deterioration and the technically appropriate remedy.
For example, localised coating failure, defective laps or individual rooflight deterioration may not necessarily justify wholesale replacement. Conversely, widespread failure may mean more extensive renewal is genuinely required.
The technical assessment should determine the appropriate remedy before the cost is negotiated.

A tenant may be required to carry out substantial works where that is genuinely necessary to satisfy the lease, but dilapidations should not simply become a mechanism for providing the landlord with its preferred improvement at the tenant’s expense.
The distinction between repair, renewal and improvement can therefore be important.
For example, replacing a defective component may be necessary, but specifying a materially enhanced system purely because it better suits the landlord’s future plans may require further scrutiny.

Not literally everything, but a full repairing and insuring lease can place extensive repairing obligations on a commercial tenant.
The precise responsibility depends on the wording of the lease and the extent of the property included within your demise.
Depending on the covenant, you may also be required to put an element into repair even where deterioration existed before occupation.
Read more about commercial tenant repair obligations.

Potentially, and sometimes significantly.
Where the lease properly limits repairing obligations by reference to a Schedule of Condition, it can provide important evidence of the condition the tenant was not required to improve beyond.
However, a Schedule does not automatically limit every separate obligation. Decoration, reinstatement and other lease requirements may still apply depending on the drafting.
Read our guide to Schedule of Condition vs Schedule of Dilapidations.

Possibly.
The lease and any Licences for Alterations should be reviewed to establish what reinstatement is required.
This can include partitions, raised floors, suspended ceilings, flooring, kitchens, cabling, signage and alterations to building services.
Do not assume that fit-out can remain simply because it is in good condition or may benefit the next occupier. Where the landlord agrees to retain it, that agreement should be properly documented.

Potentially.
The answer depends on the lease and the terms under which the racking, mezzanine or other installation was introduced.
Industrial reinstatement can also involve machinery bases, roof penetrations, additional offices, security installations and services.
Because these works can have substantial cost and programme implications, they should be reviewed well before lease expiry.

Not automatically.
What one tenant regards as an improvement may not suit the landlord’s future plans or a subsequent occupier.
The lease and alteration documentation determine the starting position. If the landlord is prepared to retain particular works, seek clear written agreement rather than simply leaving them in place.
Read more about alterations and dilapidations liability.

The landlord’s plans can be highly relevant.
If the landlord intends works that would make some of the tenant’s claimed repairs unnecessary or valueless, supersession may need to be considered.
That does not mean that a vague intention to refurbish automatically removes liability. The position should be supported by evidence of what the landlord genuinely intends to do.

Potentially.
A landlord does not necessarily need to physically complete every claimed repair before a damages claim can exist.
However, the amount claimed still needs to represent the landlord’s properly established loss, and its actual intentions for the property can be relevant.
A claim should therefore not simply assume that the cost of every theoretical work item is automatically recoverable.

A Quantified Demand is the landlord’s statement of the monetary losses being claimed following termination of the tenancy.
It should explain and substantiate the losses claimed rather than simply reproduce the total estimated cost of all items within the Schedule of Dilapidations.
The process is covered by the Dilapidations Protocol.

A Scott Schedule is the working document commonly used by landlord and tenant surveyors during dilapidations negotiations.
It records the parties’ positions against individual items, including areas such as:
Whether the breach is accepted
The appropriate remedy
Alternative technical solutions
Claimed and counter-costs
Reasons for disagreement
This allows negotiations to focus on the genuine differences between the parties.

For terminal claims in England and Wales, the Dilapidations Protocol generally anticipates the tenant providing its substantive Response within 56 days of receiving the landlord’s Quantified Demand.
That is not a reason to wait 55 days before appointing an adviser.
Reviewing the lease, inspecting the building, analysing a substantial Schedule and obtaining specialist advice can take time, so obtain advice promptly.
See the Ministry of Justice Dilapidations Protocol.

Potentially, where a genuine and properly evidenced consequential loss results from the tenant’s breaches.
It is not automatically recoverable simply because remedial works have been identified.
The basis, period and amount of any claimed loss should be examined alongside the landlord’s actual plans and circumstances.

Possibly.
Many commercial leases contain provisions relating to professional costs, but recoverability depends on the lease wording and circumstances.
Professional fees included within a claim should therefore not automatically be accepted without considering their contractual and factual basis.
Your solicitor should advise where detailed legal interpretation is required.

Where a break option is conditional, compliance with repair, reinstatement or other property obligations may become particularly important.
A building surveyor can assess the physical property position, identify works and help plan their completion.
Your solicitor should separately advise on the legal requirements for exercising the break and whether the relevant conditions have been satisfied.

Dilapidations should be addressed expressly as part of the surrender negotiations.
An agreed surrender does not necessarily mean existing repair or reinstatement liabilities automatically disappear.
The parties should establish whether liabilities are being settled financially, works are required, alterations can remain and what release the tenant receives when the surrender completes.
Your solicitor should document the legal agreement, supported by surveying advice on the technical and cost implications.

You can, but claims often involve technical issues that are difficult to assess from the Schedule alone. Tenants who self represent almost always getting a less favourable settlement because they don’t have the expertise or experience.
A claim for roof replacement, cladding works, M&E renewal or widespread reinstatement may require understanding whether the proposed remedy is genuinely necessary and what it should reasonably cost.
A specialist tenant dilapidations surveyor can also structure the response through the Scott Schedule and negotiate directly with the landlord’s surveyor.

Usually, yes, because the roles are different.
Your solicitor advises on legal interpretation and legal strategy.
Your building surveyor deals with issues such as:
Physical condition
Technical breach
Repair methodology
Reinstatement
Quantities
Costs
Scott Schedule negotiation
Complex claims may also require valuation, M&E, structural or other specialist advice.

Yes.
We can undertake a Dilapidations Liability Assessment before lease expiry to provide an early view of likely repair and reinstatement exposure.
This can help with internal budgeting, relocation planning, contractor procurement and deciding whether particular works are better undertaken before possession is returned.
For larger or complex premises, this is often most useful when undertaken well before the final months of the lease.

Yes, where separately instructed.
If undertaking works represents the better commercial strategy, we can assist with scope definition, repair specifications, budgeting, tendering, contractor procurement and delivery through our Project Management and Contract Administration services.
The objective is to make sure money is spent on works that genuinely help satisfy the relevant obligations rather than simply completing everything listed by the landlord.

Yes.
Fourth Wall provides tenant dilapidations advice across the UK for industrial, logistics, office, retail, hospitality, education and specialist commercial properties.
Our wider Commercial Dilapidations service covers both landlord and tenant representation on separate instructions.

The fee depends on the property and stage of the claim.
A pre-expiry liability assessment requires a different scope from defending a substantial terminal claim involving hundreds of Schedule items and several rounds of negotiation.
Relevant factors include the property size and type, claim value, complexity of the lease, alterations, available documentation, extent of costing required and whether specialist input is necessary.
Send us the Schedule, lease and property information and we can recommend an appropriate scope and provide a clear fee proposal.