Dilapidations: The Essentials in Two Hours

Dilapidations is a subject area which never goes away: in times of boom or bust, landlords need to maintain the value of their investment, and tenants need to restrict the impact of claims to ensure the landlord recovers no more than is properly due.

Getting to the best outcome is not just a matter of understanding and applying the law and procedure. The wider context and commercial objectives of the parties can be the key. Does the landlord have a buyer or a new letting lined up? How does that impact the calculation of the claim, and should the landlord structure the new transaction accordingly? What if a sitting sub-tenant intends to renew their lease? And what does the landlord really want?

Module Duration: 2 hours 10 minutes

Areas covered

The course outlines the relevant legal framework in a practical way, with reference to those commercial factors. The presenter is the author of “A Practical Guide to the Law of Dilapidations”.

Matters covered will include:

• Meaning of repair obligations
• Enforcing obligations in mid-term
• The role of schedules of condition
• Assessing the ‘loss of rent’ element
• s.18 and post-valuation events
• Position of sub-tenants
• Pre-action protocol