Landlords: What could you make of your dilapidated property?

Peter Ciesielski, Chartered Building Surveyor for Kempton Carr Croft, shares a case study where he worked on behalf of a commercial landlord in Maidenhead to ensure their outgoing tenant met repairing and insuring lease covenants, the resulting repair works were contracted and delivered, and the property was brought to market and re-let to new tenants within an agreed time.

The brief

Kempton Carr Croft were instructed to manage the refurbishment of a dilapidated first floor office in Maidenhead on behalf of its landlord. The office space was dated and in need of extensive refurbishment in order to be brought back to a marketable condition.

The lease of the 5,000 sq. ft. property in Vanwall Business Park was due to lapse in November 2015 and the existing tenant was vacating the property. Our client, the landlord of the building wanted to continue to let out the office space but it was in such a poor state of repair that it required extensive refurbishment before it could be brought to the commercial property market.

The process

When tackling this kind of project, the first thing to do is to produce a fully costed Terminal Schedule of Dilapidations (TSoD) for the space in question. Under normal lease terms that include full repairing and insuring covenants, a tenant has an obligation to keep the premises they occupy in a good and tenantable repair throughout the lease. After successfully securing settlement funds from the outgoing tenants, the required works could be completed. Once the dilapidation claim has been settled, the refurbishment requirements and specifications were then agreed with the landlord.

In this case, the following work was required:

• Office space and common areas updated – including ceilings, floor coverings, redecoration and new lighting to meet current regulations.
• Complete refurbishment of the WCs

With additional funds secured from the landlord to meet the specification costs, the refurbishment project was put out to tender and works were quickly underway. 

The whole project took place over a pre-agreed period of 10 weeks.

Our head of contract administration and dilapidations, Peter Ciesielski says:

“The office space was very tired, dated and wouldn’t have re-let in the condition it was in by the outgoing tenant. The completed refurbishment looks outstanding and my client and I are very pleased with the outcome. My colleague, David Pearce, is an experienced Commercial Agency Surveyor across Maidenhead, Windsor and the surrounding areas was able to advise on the work required to meet new office tenants expectations. He offered guidance regarding the retention of existing partitions and preferred finishes based on his experience of what incoming tenants to this kind of office space will be looking for in the local market.”

The first floor unit in its newly renovated condition is currently on the market and receiving significant interest from commercial applicants.

Need advice or advice? 

Working on behalf of landlords or tenants, Kempton Carr Croft’s Dilapidation and Contract Administration departments provide a comprehensive service to call upon at the point of lease break, lease expiry or lease renewal in commercial buildings. A Chartered Surveyor will ensure the repairing, decoration or reinstatement obligations set out in the tenancy agreements are met, and any resulting works are completed efficiently whilst meeting Building Regulations and specification standards. Use our contact form to get in touch. 

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