Schedule of Condition
A schedule of condition is a report that is produced by a surveyor to record the existing condition of a property or asset at a particular moment in time. At the end of the lease, the schedule of condition can be referred to and relied upon to provide clear evidence on the original condition of the property, which can reduce dilapidations claims.
A schedule of condition records the condition of the building using photographs and descriptive text to provide a detailed and accurate record of the precise condition of a building.
Schedules of Condition are commissioned for a variety of reasons, the most common of which are:
- To be appended to a lease at the commencement of the term and which may be relied upon in dilapidations claims.
- To record the condition of a property prior to undertaking alterations.
- To record the condition of a property prior to works being carried out on neighbouring land.
- In conjunction with Party Wall Awards.
We highly recommend that a schedule of condition survey is carried out before entering into a commercial lease. Schedules of condition reports are particularly important for tenants who are required to return the property to its exact original state at the end of the lease term. This ensures that if a building element is leased in disrepair, there should be no requirement for the tenant to put the element in repair at the end of the lease term.
The schedule will provide an accurate record of the property’s condition at the beginning of the lease, detailing any defects or wear and tear that may be apparent. The report can later be used at the end of the lease as evidence when a dilapidations claim is served by a landlord. This can reduce your liability and prevent any spurious claims by the landlord for items of disrepair that you are not responsible for.
In addition to schedules of condition, we also provide Pre-Lease Surveys which advise the ingoing Tenant of their likely maintenance liabilities over the term of the lease, which identify items of risk which should ideally be negotiated out of the lease.
