Repairing liabilities can be a headache at the end of a term if not completely understood or dealt with recognising any limitations on repair. Photographic schedules can be invaluable to either party when the lease terminates, whether you are the landlord of the property or tenant that is leaving it.
When you take on a property, if it is a Full Repairing and Insuring Lease, the tenant is responsible for the building. A landlord will inspect the building and depending upon lease terms may charge you for any dilapidations or defects which have arisen during your occupation and (without the preparation of a schedule) you may be charged for any defects which pre-existed your lease.
A lease with the repair limited by a Photographic Schedule of Condition will record the condition of the property and is attached to the lease. This can assist either a landlord with a dilapidations claim at the end of a lease if your property has been returned in a poorer state than documented in the schedule, or a tenant who can provide proof that the property was in the same if not better condition than when they took it on if they are faced with an unexpected claim.
N.B. The term ‘dilapidations’ refers to breaches of lease covenants that relate to the condition of the property, and the process of remedying those breaches.
