AG’s Top Five Tips for Occupiers
Last week we published a quick guide for Dilapidations, penned by Head of Commercial at AG Built Environment Consultancy, Dan Metcalf. But, if you’re short on time – here’s five tips for Occupiers looking to exit a site and limit their dilapidations liability.
Prepare a pre-lease survey. The best way to reduce your lease end liabilities is actually prior to the lease is agreed, by instructing your Building Consultant to carry out a Pre-lease survey. The instruction will involve an inspection of the premises and advise you on the condition of the building, in particular any liabilities which may become the Occupier’s responsibility under a typical lease.
Prepare a Schedule of Condition (SoC) which is then appended to the lease and dilutes your repairing and decorative liability. Many commercial leases require the Occupier to ‘put and keep’ the property in repair and is therefore wise where possible to limit this liability by recording the condition of the property at lease commencement and limiting liability by returning the property back to the Landlord in ‘no better’ condition than evidenced by a SoC. A SOC is an inventory of the condition of each element of the building and should also provide evidence of the layout of the building at lease commencement therefore reducing lease end arguments regarding reinstatement.
Take a proactive approach – you’ll generally come out best. It is strongly recommended that Occupiers determine their potential future liability at least 12 months prior to lease end. This can be done by instructing your Building Consultant to prepare a Dilapidations Liability Assessment (DLA). Once in receipt of a DLA, a bespoke exit strategy can be formulated.
Follow the advice in the DLA and diligently undertake a package of exit works to reduce your liability. This will usually focus on non-contentious easy win items of work, leaving more contentious items to be contested following lease expiry. Your Building Consultant can manage this process on your behalf including obtaining competitive tender costs and undertaking the Principial Designer role to ensure you comply with your duties under the CDM Regulations.
Instruct your Building Consultant to negotiate the landlord’s schedule on your behalf. Following lease expiry there is likely to be a residual claim from the landlord which can often be over inflated. Our expert team at AG have a wealth of experience in dealing with such claims and enter rounds of negotiations to reach a much reduced settlement figure on your behalf.
Our Approach
AG Built Environment Consultancy is a recognised dilapidations and Occupier specialist. We take a proactive approach rather than allowing a Landlord to dictate the pace and the outcome of the Dilapidations process.
We strive to ensure you understand and limit your liabilities and minimise the risk of expensive litigation – leaving you to get on with your day job other than dealing with drawn out disputes.
Over years of dealing with complex and high value dilapidations claims, we have developed a framework of exit strategies which we can systematically apply to your situation and have been proven to make huge savings.
If you’d like advice on making savings on your lease exit, please get in touch.
