Dilapidations Explained: The 56-Day Protocol, Scott Schedule and Your Options

Reaching the end of a commercial lease and expecting a dilapidations claim is stressful, and the paperwork can feel designed to confuse. It isn't. There's a defined process, a defined timetable, and a set of well-worn ways to reduce what you actually pay. This guide walks through the dilapidations process from the Schedule of Dilapidations to your response, in plain English.

What dilapidations are

Dilapidations are the breaches of a tenant's lease obligations relating to the physical state of the property, put right (or paid for) at the end of the lease. In practice that means three things: repairs (making good disrepair), redecoration (where the lease requires it), and reinstatement (removing tenant alterations and returning the property to its original layout).

The Schedule of Dilapidations and quantified demand

The landlord's surveyor prepares a Schedule of Dilapidations: an itemised list of the alleged breaches, usually with the remedial work and a cost against each. Alongside it, the landlord serves a quantified demand setting out what they are claiming and why.

This is the opening position, not a bill you simply pay. Every item is open to scrutiny.

The 56-day Pre-Action Protocol timetable

Commercial dilapidations at lease end are governed by the Dilapidations Pre-Action Protocol (the pre-action protocol for claims for damages in relation to the physical state of commercial property at the termination of a tenancy). It sets out how landlords and tenants are expected to behave before any court claim.

The protocol expects the landlord to serve the schedule and quantified demand within a reasonable time, usually 56 days after the tenancy ends, and the tenant to respond within a reasonable time, usually 56 days after receiving the quantified demand. Courts take a dim view of parties who ignore the protocol, so the timetable matters.

The Scott schedule: how items are argued

Positions are usually set out in a Scott schedule: a table where the landlord's item, alleged breach and cost sit in one set of columns, and the tenant's response and figure sit alongside. It forces both sides to engage item by item and makes the real areas of disagreement obvious. It's also the format a court would expect to see if the matter ever went that far.

How the bill gets reduced

The opening figure is rarely what a tenant pays. It comes down through several routes, often at once:

• Challenging items. Some alleged breaches aren't the tenant's responsibility under the lease, or are overstated.
• Supersession. Where the landlord's own intended works would replace the repairs, the tenant shouldn't pay for work that would be undone anyway.
• The Section 18 cap. Section 18 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1927 limits damages to the loss in value caused by the disrepair, which can be far below the cost of works.

Common items tenants get wrongly charged for

Not everything on a schedule is genuinely your liability. An experienced surveyor separates the real obligations from the rest, and that is usually where most of the reduction comes from. Watch for:

• Fair wear and tear, where the lease excludes it.
• Pre-existing defects that were there before your tenancy, which a Schedule of Condition would have documented and capped.
• Betterment, where the landlord seeks a newer or higher standard than the lease actually requires.
• Superseded works, where the landlord's own planned works would replace the item anyway.
• Items beyond the demised premises or outside your repairing obligation under the lease.

How to respond, step by step

1. Don't ignore it. The protocol expects a reasoned response, and silence weakens your position.
2. Engage a dilapidations surveyor early. The sooner an expert reviews the schedule, the more room there is to challenge and negotiate.
3. Respond item by item via the Scott schedule, setting out your position and figures.
4. Negotiate on the evidence, using supersession and the Section 18 cap where they apply.

Most dilapidations matters settle by negotiation. The right surveyor makes the difference between the opening figure and a fair one.

Sources & further reading

• Dilapidations Pre-Action Protocol (Ministry of Justice) — the protocol and its timetable, in full
• RICS: Dilapidations in England and Wales (consumer guide) — RICS consumer overview of the process
• Section 18, Landlord and Tenant Act 1927 — the statutory cap that limits what you pay
• RICS Find a Surveyor — RICS-regulated dilapidations surveyors

External links open in a new tab. ComSurv is a matching service, not a firm of surveyors, and is not affiliated with these organisations. This article is general information, not legal, surveying or valuation advice; take advice on your specific situation.