Can I negotiate a dilapidations claim down?

Almost always. Challenging scope, specification, betterment, supersession and the Section 18 cap typically produces a settlement well below the served figure.

Should I do the works or pay damages?

Compare the cost of doing the works properly during your own occupation with the landlord's likely damages after the Section 18 cap. In many cases neither the full works nor the full claim is the right answer.

Is the landlord's schedule usually accurate?

Rarely as served. Schedules routinely include betterment, items outside the demise, superseded works and costings well above market rates. Most settle materially below the served figure.

What is the section 18 cap?

Damages cannot exceed the diminution in the value of the landlord's reversion caused by the breaches. Where the property is to be refurbished or redeveloped, that cap can reduce the claim substantially.

Should I do the works myself before leaving?

Sometimes — but only after comparing the cost of doing them with the likely settlement. Where the landlord intends to strip the unit out, spending on reinstatement can be wasted money.

When should I get advice?

Twelve to eighteen months before lease end, so the exposure is budgeted and works or negotiation can be planned rather than rushed.

Commercial Dilapidations Surveyor

Free initial advice 07858 058152 WhatsApp

What the claim can properly include

Only breaches of the covenants to repair, decorate, reinstate and yield up — measured against the standard the lease actually imposes, and against any schedule of condition attached to it. Age, character and locality of the premises all bear on that standard.

The two caps on a claim

First, the common law measure: the landlord's actual loss. Second, the statutory cap in Section 18(1) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1927 — damages cannot exceed the diminution in the value of the landlord's reversion, and nothing is recoverable where the premises are to be demolished or structurally altered.

Following the Protocol

The Dilapidations Protocol requires a properly endorsed schedule, a quantified demand and a reasoned tenant response, with both surveyors endorsing that the claim reflects the landlord's genuine loss. Protocol non-compliance is a real lever in negotiation and in costs.

Common questions

Ask a question

Live assistant — commercial dilapidations surveyor

Ask anything about this topic and get an immediate answer drawn from this page. General guidance only — specific advice depends on your lease.

Talk it through

Initial advice is free — tenant side only.

Chris McGarrigle MRICS, chartered since 1989, acting for occupiers across England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland.

chris@mcgarrigle.com

Related guides