The dilapidation process can kick up issues for both property owners and tenants alike, costly repairs, legal disputes and even the devaluation of property can all occur due to mishandling of the process. Whether you’re a tenant wanting to leave the property in the correct state or a landlord looking to protect your investment it is crucial to do your best to avoid issues. In this blog we will provide you with practical tips to help you avoid common stumbling blocks when it comes to the dilapidation process.
Understanding your lease obligations, conducting regular inspections and prioritising the correct repairs can all help you maintain the value of your property.
Understand Your Lease Obligations:
It should be every tenants first step before signing the lease agreement to thoroughly read through and understand their obligations. The clauses you need to focus on include ones mentioning ‘tenant obligations’ but you should check through every clause.
Dilapidation disputes can often arise from the mismanagement of responsibilities from either side of the dispute, these misunderstandings are often caused by parties not grasping the extent of their obligations. An example of this would include a lease which requires the tenants to return the property in its original condition prior to retuning it to the landlord. This obligation could include replacing worn areas of carpeting or repainting marked walls, if this wasn’t met due to not understanding the obligations then the tenant could be liable for substantial financial penalties.
Our practical tip for this section is to seek legal advice if you don’t fully understand the obligations. This initial payment can often seem like an unneeded initial cost however it can save you from unexpected costs further down the line. The perfect start would be to read a guide on renting a commercial property.
Conduct Regular Property Inspections:
If you run a busy office, you understand how quickly wear can start to appear. Implementing regular property inspections is key to identifying and addressing potential dilapidation issues before they escalate and become more than a quick fix.
Utilising regular inspections can help build a clearer picture of your properties condition. If you were to neglect small issues such as a leaky roof or broken HVAC systems, overtime significant damage can occur. To put it simply prompt repair prevents more severe and therefore more expensive deterioration.
Our practical tip for this section would be to create a checklist of areas to inspect regularly that have particularly high traffic or would be costly to repair such as reception areas or tea points. On the other side of the coin, for landlords, a similar inspection process can maintain the property’s value and should be conducted at least twice a year to be effective.
Here’s a handy link to a detailed property inspection checklist that can be altered to meet the needs of your individual property.
Prioritise Prompt Repairs and Maintenance:
Being proactive is one of the best ways to avoid issues in most aspects of life. The same applies to property maintenance. To avoid dilapidation issues, you should address any repairs, no matter how small they are, as soon as they arise. This not only helps to keep pricey repairs to a minimum but also displays your commitment to fulfilling your obligations, whether you are a tenant or landlord.
Issues that seem small can quickly escalate into more significant problems. An appropriate example is a small leak which could lead to such problems as water damage, mould growth and can even result in structural issues is ignored. This demonstrates the importance of addressing even the smallest issues head on and in an appropriate timeframe.
Our practical tip for this section is building on the inspection tip from last section. You should take extra care to develop a routine for the inspections and keep to it, you will be surprised how quickly routine can slip if not stuck to. Furthermore, it’s extremely useful to decide on a philosophy when dealing with your dilapidation issues here are 4 distinct types which are often employed by facility management specialists:
- Corrective: Corrective maintenance is categorised as an issue which is identified whilst working on another. In other words, identifying an issue at the last minute.
- Preventative: This is maintenance which is achieved by taking steps to ensure that corrective maintenance is not needed. This often involves routine inspections to spot the issue early and replacing parts which have reached the end of their life.
- Risk-Based: Risk-based maintenance focuses on maintaining equipment which would cause the most risk if it were to fail.
- Condition-Based: Taking a series of data points to form an idea of when a machine is at risk of early failure, this classification is based on having higher tech requirements but is incredibly proactive.
By implementing a single or mix of philosophies to your building inspections and subsequent repairs you can have a clear plan of action which in turn can help diminish your potential dilapidation issues when it comes to the end of your tenancy.
If you would like to learn more about these specific philosophies often implemented by facilities management groups, click here.
Conclusion
To summarise, proactive management, regular inspections and prompt repairs should be utilised together to help you avoid dilapidation issues. These 3 tips when combined not only help you avoid issues but also help smooth the relationship between tenant and landlord which makes both sides lives much easier in the long run.
Whether you are dealing with dilapidations in Bristol or somewhere else in the South West the key is to stay informed and be proactive. Act today by studying your lease agreement and fully understanding your tenant obligations.
If you are dealing with dilapidation issues and need an expert to guide, you through your process then we’re here to help. Start the conversation today by reaching out to us via our contact form.