Dilapidations are the claim a landlord makes against a commercial tenant for breaching repair, decoration and reinstatement covenants in the lease. The most useful thing to know is that the repair element is capped. Under section 18(1) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1927, damages for disrepair cannot exceed the amount by which the property’s value has fallen because of the breach, and they will not be recoverable where demolition or major structural works would make the repairs valueless. A surveyor’s schedule of £120,000 is a starting position, not a bill. The tenant who plans early, keeps records and negotiates from the lease wording usually pays a fraction of the opening figure.
Most of the damage is done in the last 12 months, not the last week.
What a landlord can actually claim
| Item | What it covers | Common pushback |
|---|---|---|
| Repair | Putting right defects the lease says you must repair | Fair wear and tear exclusions, age, condition at lease start and section 18 cap |
| Decoration | Internal and external redecoration at set intervals | Works done too close to lease end or already superseded |
| Reinstatement | Removing alterations such as partitions and cabling | Landlord’s consent at the time, or no obligation to remove |
| Statutory compliance | Works required by legislation | Whether the covenant clearly covers it |
| Loss of rent | Void period while works are done | Whether the landlord intends to carry out the works at all |
| Professional fees | Surveyor and legal costs | Reasonableness, duplication and whether the lease allows recovery |
The cap does most of the work
If the landlord plans to demolish the building, or carry out works that will make your repairs redundant, the repair claim can fall sharply or disappear. That is often called supersession, and it is the first thing a tenant’s surveyor should test. The RICS professional standard on dilapidations in England and Wales sets out how surveyors should approach schedules, quantified demands, responses, Scott schedules and diminution valuations.
Section 18 does not mean every item in a dilapidations claim vanishes automatically. Reinstatement, decoration, loss of rent and fees still need to be checked against the lease and the evidence. But where the headline claim is built mainly on repair works, the statutory cap often turns an intimidating schedule into a much smaller commercial settlement.
A case that went the right way
A software firm in Camden occupied a first-floor office under a ten-year lease and received a schedule of £86,000 six weeks before the end of the term. Most of it related to a partition wall and raised flooring installed in year three with written consent. The lease said nothing clear about removal, and the landlord’s own agent had approved the layout.
Their surveyor challenged each line, and the landlord then admitted the building was being gutted for a new tenant. The claim settled at a little over £9,000. Nothing clever happened. The tenant had kept the consent email.
Start before the final year
Commission a surveyor’s inspection at least 12 to 18 months before the end of the term. That leaves time to do worthwhile works, challenge unrealistic items and decide what is better left to a cash settlement. The same discipline applies as in any property dispute, and our guide on building an evidence file that stands up in court covers the records that matter. Photographs at the start of the lease are gold dust, as are licences for alterations, consent emails, fit-out drawings and contractor invoices.
If you are weighing renewal against leaving, the choice changes how this works, so read our note on renewing a business lease under the 1954 Act before you decide. Our commercial lease solicitors in London can check your covenants against any alterations you made.
The process after lease end
The Pre-Action Protocol for Claims for Damages in Relation to the Physical State of Commercial Property at Termination of a Tenancy expects the landlord to send a terminal schedule and quantified demand within a reasonable time, usually within 56 days after the tenancy ends. The tenant then responds item by item, normally within 56 days of the quantified demand, and the two sides often build a Scott Schedule. You can read the Dilapidations Protocol on the Ministry of Justice site.
Claims under a lease granted by deed can usually be brought for up to 12 years, though most landlords move far faster. If proceedings follow, allocation depends on value and complexity, which our explainer on how civil claims are allocated between tracks covers, and our note on recent court and tribunal fee changes helps with budgeting.
Interim claims and guarantors
A landlord can also raise repair issues during the term. The Leasehold Property (Repairs) Act 1938 can restrict claims on longer leases, where the lease was granted for at least seven years and at least three years remain. If the tenant serves the required counter-notice, the landlord generally needs the court’s permission before bringing proceedings for damages or forfeiture based on the repair breach.
Where a director or third party guaranteed the lease, the guarantee may stand behind the claim, and our post on when a guarantee can be challenged sets out the usual defences. Where rent is owed too, see our guide on documenting rent arrears properly and our landlord and tenant eviction services.
If your own premises have suffered because of a landlord’s neglect, our housing disrepair solicitors in London and our note on managing disrepair counterclaims show how those arguments can offset a claim. Where the tenant has died, our probate solicitors in London can advise on liability falling on the estate.
Frequently asked questions
Can a landlord claim dilapidations while the lease is still running?
Yes, but on longer leases the 1938 Act can restrict interim repair claims. If the Act applies and the tenant serves a counter-notice, the landlord may need permission from the court before bringing proceedings.
Do you have to put the premises back to how they were?
Only if the lease, licence for alterations or other lease documents require it. Check what the reinstatement clause says, what the landlord consented to, and whether there is any written agreement allowing alterations to remain.
How much can a landlord recover?
For disrepair, no more than the loss in the property’s value caused by the breach, and not where the works would be made pointless by demolition or structural alteration. Other heads of claim still need to be checked against the lease and the evidence.
What if the landlord redevelops the property?
The claim is often much reduced or removed entirely for works that would be made redundant by the redevelopment. You need evidence of the landlord’s intentions, such as planning records, contractor instructions, marketing material or correspondence.
Get the schedule reviewed before you respond
A dilapidations schedule looks authoritative and rarely survives line-by-line scrutiny. Send us the lease, any licences for alterations and the landlord’s schedule, and we will tell you what is genuinely claimable and what to negotiate. Speak to our solicitors in North London on 020 3581 9293 or email info@atalawsolicitors.com.