A schedule of dilapidations is one side's opening position, not a final bill. Here are the grounds that actually hold up when challenging one.
Most tenants assume a schedule of dilapidations is fixed and their only choice is to pay it or fight it in court. Neither is usually true. Most schedules are negotiated down, sometimes substantially, on specific and well-established grounds.
If a schedule of condition was agreed when the lease began, you can only be held liable for deterioration beyond that baseline. Anything already in poor condition at the outset isn't your responsibility to fix, whatever the landlord's schedule claims.
A repairing covenant obliges you to keep the property in repair, not to hand it back in a better state than it was ever in. Where a claimed item would amount to an improvement rather than a genuine repair, it's arguable that it falls outside your obligation.
Where remedial work would leave the landlord with something more valuable than what existed before, a deduction for betterment is usually appropriate. Landlords aren't entitled to have tenants fund an upgrade.
If the landlord intends to redevelop, demolish, or substantially alter the property regardless of whether the repairs are carried out, the repairs themselves may have no effect on the property's value. Under Section 18 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1927, this can remove the landlord's ability to claim for those items at all.
Even where breaches are genuine, Section 18 caps the landlord's damages at the actual diminution in the value of their interest in the property. A large schedule of works doesn't automatically translate into an equally large financial claim.
Where costs are claimed above typical market rates, or where the scope of works goes beyond what's strictly needed to remedy the breach, both are legitimate points to push back on.
A surveyor experienced in dilapidations will usually be able to tell you within an initial review which of these grounds genuinely apply to your schedule, and which items are worth conceding early to focus negotiation where it counts.
Whether you're a tenant who's received a claim or a landlord preparing one, the right specialist advice early changes the outcome.
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