Do I Need A Schedule Of Condition?

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Before you take a lease of new premises, it can be easy to not think about what happens when a lease comes to an end.  However, tenants need to be thinking about what their repairing liability is under a lease is before they enter into the document.

Most leases will expect the tenant to keep the Property in good repair.  Whilst keep may seem like an innocuous word, the courts have held that, logically if you are keeping something in repair, this must mean that you must first put a property into repair.  Such an obligation can be expensive for a tenant, as to comply with their obligations under a lease, they will need to spend money putting the property into better condition than it was when they entered into the lease.

If a tenant fails to comply with their repairing covenant, they could be looking at significant dilapidation payments when the lease comes to an end. One way to mitigate this, is to agree that the repairing obligations in the lease will be by reference to a schedule of condition.

What Is a Schedule of Condition?

A schedule of condition limits the repairing obligation in the lease, by requiring the property to be kept in no worse a condition than evidenced by it. It is photographic evidence of the state of the property at the time the lease is granted.

The tenant’s obligation to repair in the lease then says that a tenant does not have to keep the property in any better state of repair than as shown by the schedule.

What are the advantages & Disadvantages?

Advantages:

  • The advantage of a schedule of condition for a tenant is that a tenant is not liable to remedy anything which took place before they entered into occupation of a property.
  • The advantage for a landlord is that they have certainty that the tenant is obliged to return the property in the same state in which it was acquired.
  • For both parties it is useful evidence should disputes arise.

Disadvantages:

  • It is only based on a visual inspection. Therefore other defects may not be revealed.
  • Sometimes even though only part of an item is defective, you may need to replace the whole item. This may mean putting the property in a better condition than that evidenced by the schedule.

If you are taking lease of a new premises and want professional advice, our Property team are on hand to guide you. Give Isabel Alderton-Sell, our Deputy Head of our Property Department a call on 01903 229999, email us at info@bennett-griffin.co.uk or by filling in the form below.