DILAPIDATIONS AND EXPIRY OF COMMERCIAL LEASES

RKJ Property Consultants LTD

Commercial Property Consultant, Building Surveyor

Do you know your lease obligations for returning your commercial premises to the Landlord?

The exact obligations of each lease can range from simple redecoration and repairs to major reinstatement works. When factoring in the potential claims for loss of rent, rates, insurance, professional costs and works costs, this quickly emerges as a major claim for the landlord against their commercial tenants. In the commercial world, this falls under a process called Dilapidations.

Dilapidations is a complex and heavily legislated/debated process requiring substantial time, knowledge and effort to deal with. Dilapidations affect all commercial leases in one way or another, depending on the specific obligations within each lease. Leaseholders unfortunately are often unaware of the extent of these obligations, for example, at the outset the leaseholder may have been granted a license to alter the premises, however unless otherwise specified within the lease itself, leaseholders are often unknowingly required to reinstate a premises back to its original condition or lay out, regardless of the costs involved. For many commercial and industrial companies, the resultant claim can punch a significant hole in the finances of that company, especially when the money is spent on a premises they will no longer use.

Leaseholders then have to choose between either paying the landlord to do the works or undertaking the works themselves. For the majority of companies, neither option is particularly desirable, and many tenants will find themselves paying thousands in over-inflated costs and unjustifiable claims. This is where we come in.

By using RKJ Property Consultants, leaseholders could save thousands of pounds.

Operating across London and the Southeast, RKJ Property Consultants have done just this for over 14 years, with many of our clients seeing their dilapidations settlements massively reduced. By employing us to act on your behalf in responding to and negotiating with your landlord, you can rest assured, your lease obligations will be in well experienced and safe hands.

What’s more, following an initial fixed fee for responding, our fees for negotiating a settlement are based on the saving achieved against the Landlord's initial claim. This way, our clients know we will work hard to ensure they get the best deal possible.

If you or your client's lease is coming to an end or you have recently been served with a dilapidations schedule, call or email us today for an initial free consultation and see how RKJ Property Consultants could save you money.