To improve pre-action communication between Landlords and Tenants the dilapidations protocol was recently revised and was incorporated into the Civil Procedure Rule 35 in January 2012.
I have been looking at the work we have undertaken with regard to dilapidations and I see that since then we have increasingly been acting on behalf of Tenants in their defence of these matters. A large percentage of these cases have been for clients in the Hospitality Industry and in particular Pub Licensees. Many of these Tenants were being served with interim and terminal schedules of dilapidations by Pub Companies or private landlords seeking to regain possession of the property.
When Tenants take on a lease they are often preoccupied with the excitement at the start of a venture and may pay less attention to the terms of the end of the lease. It can come as a shock then, when the lease is terminated, that there is frequently the need to reinstate the property to the condition it was in at the start of the term. The remedial works can result in a large bill for the Tenant.
This need not always be the case, however, as we have found that many of the schedules that are being served are grossly over costed in respect of the necessary repairs and reinstatement works. In addition many are not served correctly; paying no attention to the requirement now in place for these to be prepared in accordance with the Pre-action Protocol under the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR).
Over the last year we have been successful in assisting many of our clients to significantly reduce their liability and payments in respect of damages. In fact, we recently assisted a client and their solicitors in reducing a landlords claim from a huge £230k to just £30k.
If you need help with regard to dilapidations issues email: robin@rrpaice.co.uk
RR Paice
