Do I need a Schedule of Condition or a (Commercial) Building Survey?

Entering into a lease

If you are a potential tenant who is about to enter into a lease with a commercial landlord, then it is likely that you need a Schedule of Condition.

A Schedule of Condition allows a tenant to safeguard themselves by recording the condition of the property before the lease is signed. This is needed because most leases will contain clauses requiring you to:

• keep the property in a good state of repair
• keep the property well-decorated
• remove any of your own items and ‘reinstate’ the property to its original layout when leaving the premises
• comply with laws and regulations during your tenancy

If a landlord believes that the tenant has breached these clauses, they may issue them with a Schedule of Dilapidations - either during the tenancy or at its end.

A schedule of Dilapidations details exactly what the breach of lease was, along with its location. The landlord may be able to recover their costs from you to rectify these issues. But if you and your landlord have agreed on a schedule of condition, the lease will often reference the schedule and limit your repair responsibility to the condition recorded by the photos and text in the report.

In short, by preparing a Schedule of Condition in advance, you can limit any claim the landlord could make against you in future. 

If you are purchasing a (Commercial) Building, or already own one  

In this scenario, it is likely that you require a Commercial Building Survey.

As the potential or current owner of a commercial building, you are likely to need an insight into any defects, maintenance issues, repair timescales and an estimated budget for repairs before you go ahead with a purchase. As a current owner, you may wish to budget for future works to the property or be considering selling it. 

Commercial Building Surveys comment on the main structural elements of a property, its type of construction, its external and internal fittings and its services.  As such, they are more detailed than Schedules of Condition and provide advice on how to manage or repair the issues found by your surveyor.

Easton Bevins are highly experienced in providing both Schedules of Condition and Commercial Building Surveys to a variety of clients. It is important that you select the right survey for your individual needs; for advice on your own situation or for further information, please get in touch. 

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