More often than not, a lease of a commercial property is of a "full repairing and insuring lease" which means that the tenant bares the responsibility of the full costs of repairing and insuring the whole of the property, including the structural elements such as the walls, roof, and foundations.
Leases can also be "internal repair only" where the tenant is only required to take care of the internal parts of the property, such as the floors, walls, and ceiling surfaces.
However, regardless of the type of lease, the repairing obligations can place a considerable financial burden on tenants and therefore it is pertinent for the tenant to be clear on the extent of and the elements in which they will be required to repair within the property or reimburse via a service charge.
In our experience we have found that individuals or firms often inaccurately assume that they only need to hand back a commercial property in a similar state of repair and condition to what it was in when they first took the lease. However, this is usually not the case as leases typically require for a tenant to put and keep the property in a good and substantial state of repair and condition. This can mean putting the premises into a better state of repair and condition than they are in when the tenant first occupies the property.
This can be particularly burdensome, particularly when the property is in a poor state of repair to begin with. It is therefore pertinent to ensure you properly assess the current state and condition of a property and check what your repairing liabilities are going to be before committing to a commercial lease.
In order for a tenant to limit their repairing obligations, they can seek to reach an agreement with the landlord to annex a Schedule of Condition prepared by a suitably qualified surveyor to the lease.
How can we help?
For more advice on this particular subject or to Request a Quote for a schedule of condition inspection, contact our dedicated Building Surveying team UNEK Building Consultants via contact@unek.co.uk.