QUESTION: We run our business from premises we own under a Lease.  Our Landlord has requested us to carry out certain works to the property and has threatened to forfeit our Lease if we fail to carry out these works.  We pay the rent, why is this not the Landlord’s responsibility? What happens if we do not carry out the works?

ANSWER: It appears that Landlord has served you with a Schedule of Dilapidations.  Dilapidations are breaches of covenant to repair a building contained in a Lease.  Where disrepair occurs, the Landlord may serve a Schedule of Dilapidations upon the tenant.  If you fail to carry out the works, the Landlord can apply to the Court for possession of the property.

It is quite common under a commercial lease that a Tenant agrees to repair and insure the building contained in the Lease. This is more commonly known as a “fully repairing and insuring Lease”. However, it is extremely important to instruct a solicitor to advise you specifically on the covenants in the Lease, as each Lease is different and will dictate what obligations you have in terms of repairs and the degree to which those repairs must be carried out.  For example, the repairing liability may be restricted to leaving the building in no worse condition that at the commencement of the lease, as opposed to accepting a full liability.   

Your Solicitor will also be able to advise you on the Statutory Reliefs available to you against the forfeiture of your Lease, or if the Schedule of Dilapidations were served after the end of your Lease, whether there are limitations to what damages the Landlord can claim from you. Once your Solicitor has established the extent of your repairing obligations under the Lease, you     will be advised to instruct a Chartered Surveyor to determine the following:

-    Whether the scope of the works under the Schedule of Dilapidations is accurate
-    Whether the standard of repair required is justified
-    To what extent statutory reliefs are available to you
-    How and when any repairs should be carried out
-    Whether it would be appropriate to negotiate a  settlement with the Landlord

It is extremely important to act swiftly in order to safeguard your possession of the property and to limit any liabilities you may or may think you have. You should therefore instruct a Solicitor and Surveyor without delay.