NJC Services

Dilapidations

Dilapidations concern the situation where a property is in disrepair and the landlord or tenant has an obligation to carry out repairs or meet their cost. Dilapidations claims are usually made by a landlord - either during or at the end of a lease. NJC can carry out dilapidations services for both the landlord and tenants, where each party will have different requirements.

The essential principle in a dilapidations claim is that, under English law, no one can claim more in damages than he has lost. Therefore this is not purely the same as the cost of undertaking repairs.  Both in its statutory form - s18(1) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1927 - and in its common law form, the law on damages provides that no-one can normally recover more than he has lost. In a property context, that loss is expressed as the loss in value of the landlord's property, usually described as "damage to the reversion", or more formally, "diminution in the value of the landlord's reversion".

In basic terms - dilapidation claims are limited by law to the reduction in the value of the landlord's property.

Landlord
If you are a landlord, are you aware of the correct manner in which to assess and pursue tenants who have not fulfilled their leasehold obligations? Are you familiar with the Pre-Action Protocol for Dilapidations? Are you familiar with what you can and cannot pursue tenants for?
Receiving the correct advice early on can help you maximise your chances of receiving your building back in good repair, ready for re-letting and cut down on wasted time.

Tenant
If you are a tenant, ensure you consider your dilapidation liabilities early. Costs of dilapidation repairs, decoration and reinstatement works can be a considerable expense to any organisation. If not carried out before the end of a lease, the landlord is often entitled to recover further substantial monies from you, for items such as professional fees, loss of rent and VAT, all of which could have been reduced or even avoided if, as a tenant, you had carried out the works yourselves before the lease expires. If you have already received a claim from your landlord, we can assess the claim and try and reduce this by negotiation.        

Negotiating a dilapidations claim ought to be a simple task: inspect the property; work out the cost of repairs; and either do the works or pay the landlord the cost. But in practice, dilapidations negotiations are more complicated involving legal, valuation and building cost expertise. Good negotiation strategies and knowledge of the legal principles governing dilapidations are vital.

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NJC
Chartered Building Consultancy