Mishaps With Dilaps – A Tenant's Guide To Dilapidations

A lease will generally place a positive obligation on a tenant to hand back or 'yield up' vacant possession at the expiration of the term, having restored the property to the condition it was in at the commencement of the term. In some cases, the property must be yielded up to the landlord in good condition irrespective of its condition at term commencement. Typically, there is no obligation on the landlord to serve a schedule of dilapidations and the tenant should request that the lease contains an obligation on the landlord to:\\

• serve a schedule of dilapidations not less than six months prior to lease expiry, and
• accept a payment in lieu of dilapidation works and confirm a sum that will be acceptable to it