Free checklist
Dilapidations survey checklist
A dilapidations checklist sets out what a surveyor reviews, inspects and records when assessing a commercial tenant's liability for the condition of premises during or at the end of a lease. It is for building surveyors, property managers, landlords and tenants dealing with commercial property in England and Wales, and follows the stages of the Dilapidations Protocol.
Last reviewed by ProSurvey Apps Limited
At a glance
- Who it is for
- Building surveyors acting for landlords or tenants, property and asset managers, and occupiers planning a lease exit.
- When to use it
- Well ahead of lease expiry or a break date, at the end of the lease for a terminal schedule, and during the term for an interim schedule.
- Time needed
- A desk review of the lease papers first, then a day or more on site depending on the building’s size and services.
- What to bring
- The lease, licences and variations, any schedule of condition, drawings, camera, laser measure, binoculars, torch, moisture meter, PPE and the asbestos register.
Ticks on screen are not saved. Print it, save it as a PDF, or run it in the app with photos.
The dilapidations checklist
Twelve sections, from instructions to settlement. The first three are desk work; do them before you go to site.
1.Instructions and scope
2.Lease and document review
3.Schedule of condition
4.Health, safety and site limitations
5.External elements
6.Internal elements
7.Mechanical, electrical and public health services
8.Alterations and reinstatement
9.Evidence recorded on site
10.Preparing the schedule of dilapidations
11.Costing and quantifying loss
12.Response, Scott schedule and settlement
What is a dilapidations survey?
A dilapidations survey records where a commercial tenant has breached its lease covenants on repair, redecoration, reinstatement and yielding up, and what works are needed to put that right.
Terminal dilapidations are dealt with at or after the end of the lease, usually as a claim for damages. Interim dilapidations are pursued while the lease is still running, usually to get the tenant to do the work. The output is a schedule of dilapidations. If it is disputed, it becomes a Scott schedule, with both parties’ positions side by side. This checklist is written for commercial property in England and Wales, where the Pre-Action Protocol applies. It is not legal advice, and lease wording always decides the outcome.
The Dilapidations Protocol, step by step
The Pre-Action Protocol for Claims for Damages in relation to the Physical State of Commercial Property at Termination of a Tenancy, usually called the Dilapidations Protocol, sets out the steps and timetable the court expects before a terminal dilapidations claim is issued.
| Stage | What happens | Protocol timing |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Schedule | Landlord sends a schedule of breaches, remedial works and, if relevant, costings, with repair, reinstatement and redecoration listed separately, and endorsed. | Within a reasonable time; generally within 56 days after the tenancy ends. |
| 2. Quantified Demand | The sum claimed as damages, substantiated, with VAT position stated and an offer to meet. Restricted to the landlord’s likely loss. | Same timescale as the schedule, with a reasonable response date. |
| 3. Response | Tenant responds item by item, where appropriate on the landlord’s schedule, and endorses it. | Usually within 56 days after the Quantified Demand. |
| 4. Negotiation | Without-prejudice meeting of the parties or their surveyors to agree as many items as possible. | Generally within 28 days after the Response. |
| 5. Quantifying loss | Before proceedings, the landlord gives a breakdown based on a diminution valuation, actual spend, or both. A tenant relying on diminution provides its own valuation. | Tenant’s valuation generally within 56 days of the landlord’s breakdown. |
| 6. ADR and stocktake | Consider mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution, then review both positions before any claim is issued. | Before proceedings. |
The endorsement matters. Whoever endorses the schedule confirms that, in their opinion, all the works are reasonably required to remedy the breaches, full account has been taken of the landlord’s intentions for the property, and any costings are reasonable. The tenant’s endorsement of the Response mirrors this. The court looks at whether the parties complied in substance, not at minor or technical shortcomings, and can take compliance into account when deciding who pays costs.
The RICS professional standard
The Protocol asks surveyors endorsing a schedule or Quantified Demand to have regard to RICS guidance on dilapidations. The current RICS document is the professional standard Dilapidations in England and Wales (7th edition), which advises members on what to consider when producing schedules of dilapidations, Quantified Demands, Responses, Scott schedules and diminution valuations. It covers the surveyor’s role, taking instructions, inspection, break clauses and settlement of disputes, and gives formats for a costed schedule, a Quantified Demand, a Response and a Scott schedule.
Start with the lease, not the building
Every item in a schedule must trace back to a covenant, so read the lease and every licence before you inspect.
- Repair: is the tenant to keep, put or leave the premises in repair, and are there qualifications? A schedule of condition annexed to the lease may limit the obligation, depending on the wording.
- Decoration: how often, to what standard, and whether there is a specific obligation in the final year.
- Reinstatement: whether alterations must be removed at the end of the term, and whether the landlord must serve notice to require it, by when.
- The demise: what the tenant actually took. In a multi-let building, the structure, roof and common services are often the landlord’s, recovered through the service charge.
- Breaks: conditions such as giving vacant possession, which a tenant planning to exit early must satisfy exactly.
- Self-help: many leases let the landlord enter, do the works and recover the cost as a debt, which changes how an interim breach is handled.
Why the claim is not simply the cost of the works
A dilapidations claim is a claim for the landlord’s loss, which is not always the same as the cost of doing the works.
Section 18(1) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1927 says damages for breach of a covenant to keep, put or leave premises in repair cannot exceed the amount by which the value of the landlord’s reversion is reduced by the breach. No damages are recoverable for failing to leave premises in repair at the end of the lease if they would, at or shortly after termination, be pulled down or structurally altered in a way that makes the repairs valueless. The Protocol reflects this: the Quantified Demand should be restricted to the landlord’s likely loss, and should not include works likely to be superseded by the landlord’s intentions. That is why you ask for those intentions in writing at the start.
Interim dilapidations and the 1938 Act
During the term, a landlord can serve an interim schedule to get repairs done. On leases granted for seven years or more with at least three years left to run, the Leasehold Property (Repairs) Act 1938 lets the tenant respond to a repair notice with a counter-notice within 28 days, after which the landlord needs the court’s permission before pursuing damages or forfeiture for that breach. Check the lease term and dates before advising on an interim claim.
How to inspect for a schedule that holds up
Inspect element by element, record the cause as well as the condition, and give every item a number, a location, a photo and a quantity.
- Work to a fixed order. Roofs, elevations and externals, then each floor in the same sequence, then plant. Use grid lines or room numbers so the other side can find every item.
- Separate the categories. The Protocol asks for repair, reinstatement and redecoration to be listed separately, so tag each item as you go.
- Record the cause. Note whether an item is a tenant breach, wear within what the covenant allows, an original defect, or something the landlord maintains through the service charge.
- Be careful with plant. Old equipment that still works is not necessarily in disrepair. Bring in a services engineer where condition and remaining life are in doubt.
- Measure for costing. Areas, lengths and counts taken on site save arguments later.
- Record limitations. Areas you could not reach, plant you could not run, and weather conditions all go in the report.
Laying out the schedule and the Scott schedule
Use the Protocol’s columns for the landlord’s schedule, then add the tenant’s columns alongside to make a Scott schedule.
| Column | Completed by | What goes in it |
|---|---|---|
| Item number | Landlord | A unique reference used in photos and correspondence |
| Clause number | Landlord | The lease or licence clause the obligation comes from |
| Breach complained of | Landlord | What is wrong, where, and how much of it |
| Remedial works required | Landlord | The works reasonably required to remedy that breach |
| Landlord’s costing | Landlord | The cost of those works |
| Tenant’s comments | Tenant | Agreed, disputed or superseded, with reasons |
| Tenant’s costing | Tenant | The tenant’s view of a reasonable cost |
| Agreed or decided | Both, or the tribunal | The settled figure for each item |
The first five columns follow the Protocol’s Annex B and C templates. The later columns are common practice rather than a fixed format, and the RICS professional standard includes a suggested Scott schedule layout.
Costing a schedule
Price each item from a stated source, show the add-ons separately, and test the total against the landlord’s real loss.
The Protocol expects a cost-based Quantified Demand to be fully quantified and backed by an invoice or detailed estimate, with the VAT position stated. Any other losses, such as rent, service charge or business rates during the works, must be set out in detail, substantiated and given a legal basis. Where the landlord will not carry out all the works, the Protocol expects a formal diminution valuation from a valuer unless it would be reasonable not to provide one. For an early, indicative figure before you have rates, PropertySurvey Pro’s free dilapidations cost estimator works from floor area, asset type and condition; it is a planning aid, not a substitute for a priced schedule.
Common problems with dilapidations schedules
- Generic items with no location, quantity or photo, which the tenant can simply dispute.
- Improvements dressed up as repairs: new for old, or an upgraded specification.
- Ignoring the landlord’s intentions, so items that will be stripped out are still claimed.
- Reinstatement claimed without checking whether notice had to be served, and when.
- Lease clauses paraphrased instead of quoted.
- Landlord-maintained parts claimed from the tenant as well as through the service charge.
- A schedule of condition that was never annexed, or has photos too poor to rely on.
Dilapidations in PropertySurvey Pro
PropertySurvey Pro handles schedules of condition and dilapidations surveys on iPhone, iPad and Android, offline, and includes a dilapidations Scott schedule so each item carries its clause, breach, remedial works and cost. Photo captions are numbered in the report, and with Pro you can mark up photos with circles, arrows and labels. The built-in floor area tool works to RICS measurement bases, and the floor plan designer helps you reference items by location.
AI Polish can turn site shorthand into draft item wording that you review and edit; it never decides whether something is a breach, and the endorsement is always yours. See a sample commercial dilapidations report. The free app runs real surveys and exports PDF reports with the app’s watermark, with 3 free uses a month of each AI tool and up to 25 surveys on the device. Pro adds cloud sync, your own branding and the full AI allowance; see pricing.
Dilapidations checklist: frequently asked questions
What is a schedule of dilapidations?
A schedule of dilapidations is a document, usually prepared by a building surveyor for the landlord, that lists each breach of a tenant’s lease covenants on repair, reinstatement and redecoration, the lease clause concerned, the works needed to remedy it and, often, the cost. Under the Dilapidations Protocol it is endorsed by the landlord or the landlord’s surveyor.
What is a Scott schedule in dilapidations?
A Scott schedule is a table that sets each disputed item out on one row, with columns for the landlord’s position and costs and the tenant’s response and costs, so both sides can see where they agree and where they differ. In dilapidations it usually grows out of the landlord’s schedule, with the tenant responding in the same document.
When should a terminal schedule of dilapidations be served?
The Dilapidations Protocol says schedules should be sent within a reasonable time, which will generally be within 56 days after the tenancy ends. A landlord may send a schedule before the end of the tenancy, but at termination should then confirm it still stands or send a further schedule within a reasonable time.
Is the Dilapidations Protocol mandatory?
It is a pre-action protocol under the Civil Procedure Rules, so the court expects landlords and tenants to follow it before starting proceedings for a terminal dilapidations claim. The court looks at whether the parties complied in substance rather than at minor or technical shortcomings, and can take non-compliance into account when deciding who pays costs.
Does the tenant have to pay the full cost of the works?
Not necessarily. Section 18(1) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1927 caps damages for breach of a repairing covenant at the amount by which the value of the landlord’s reversion is reduced, and nothing is recoverable for repair if the premises are to be demolished or altered so the repairs would be valueless. The Protocol also says a Quantified Demand should be limited to the landlord’s likely loss.
What is the difference between interim and terminal dilapidations?
Interim dilapidations are breaches pursued while the lease is still running, usually to get the tenant to carry out repairs. Terminal dilapidations are claims made at or after the end of the lease, usually for damages. For longer leases, the Leasehold Property (Repairs) Act 1938 can require the landlord to get the court’s permission before pursuing an interim repair claim.
Does the Dilapidations Protocol apply in Scotland or Northern Ireland?
No. The Protocol applies to commercial property situated in England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own law and practice on lease-end condition claims, so take local advice there.