The RICS guide for England and Wales explains how condition and lease covenants relate to dilapidations. The surveyor and legal advisers address obligations; a defect schedule alone does not establish the parties’ liability or settlement.
What the physical inspection contributes
Inspection evidence should identify the condition and alterations covered by the appointment, with location references and photographs. Record inaccessible and concealed areas explicitly. The programme team must be able to distinguish an inspected element from an assumption about an unseen one.
Translate findings about repair, decoration or reinstatement into identifiable outcomes. A general direction to restore the premises leaves too much unresolved for work allocation and completion review.
Separate assessment from works pricing
Use the schedule to develop a contractor brief once the responsible parties and their advisers have resolved the relevant obligations. Pricing the described work does not settle a legal claim; keep the commercial work instruction and that assessment distinct.
Break authorised works into tasks, retained elements, required finishes and service interfaces. Reinstatement following a tenant installation may need safe disconnection, removal, disposal and making good. Include those dependencies in the package being priced.
Plan the handover sequence
Sequence relocation, continued occupation, strip-out and repair around agreed release of areas. Coordinate shared services and neighbouring occupiers. Allow time before handover for inspection and correction, rather than programming every task to finish at the final deadline.
Reference completion evidence against the authorised schedule. Photographs and technical records should let the parties assess each item, with a stated position and next action for work that remains open.
Common questions
Is a dilapidation survey the same as a building condition survey?
No. A condition survey reports on the agreed inspection; dilapidation work examines condition against the relevant lease obligations and the particular survey instruction.
Does the survey automatically become the agreed works list?
Not automatically. The parties must establish what is authorised. Resolve any schedule entries needing clarification or agreement before treating them as instructions to carry out works.
What helps a contractor price reinstatement accurately?
Issue the agreed schedule with images, service information, access arrangements and specified finishes. Show retained and removed items separately and define the handover condition for the work package.
Related work and reading
Plan packages through Dilapidations and Reinstatement, Strip-Out and Decommissioning and Building Fabric. Use refurbishment budgeting to consider related cost items. Review services, projects, sectors and locations, then discuss the authorised reinstatement scope.
