Full Building Survey – Office Building
This full building survey of a purpose built office premises, highlighted structural movement associated with the spread of the pitched roof, causing the external walls to crack and be forced out of alignment.
Schedules of Condition
Church Building
This Church in Tottenham was offering a Lease for an Annex Building, and part of the Church building itself, the Sacristy, for use as a day nursery. Through the Schedule of Condition a number of defects were identified to the Annex building, but more significantly, structural movement was noted to the main Church building and the boundary wall, which is in need of partial rebuilding. The Schedule of Condition allowed the prospective tenant to negotiate more attractive Heads of Terms for the Lease.
Public House
De Vos Consultancy Ltd. was appointed to prepare and negotiate a Schedule of Condition for a new Lease for a large, Gothic style public house, built in the late 19th Century for a prospective tenant keen to convert the premises into a restaurant and bar. De Vos Consultancy Ltd. undertook a thorough inspection of the property and prepared a detailed Schedule of Condition with fully indexed photographic appendix. The three-storey building, with extensive basement, was in poor order, the previous tenant having abandoned the property some months earlier.
Whilst the tenant was keen to take the building because of location and size, the extensive repairing requirements resulted in the tenant deciding to look elsewhere for alternatives premises for his new business venture.
Shop and Residential
The Schedule of Condition for the commercial unit and the two-storey dwelling to the first and second floors, revealed a number of serious defects ,which permitted the favourable negotiation of the Heads of Terms for the proposed New Lease.
Warehouse
De Vos Consultancy Ltd undertook a schedule of condition for a warehouse unit in Sutton. The Tenant used the Schedule to negotiate terms and condition of the new Lease.
Schedules of Dilapidations
Office 1
This first floor office premises, originally offering concierge managed business unit premises to individual sme’s, was leased in 2003 to a housing organisation providing advisory services to tenants and the general public. During the course of the term, a formal Licence to Alter for the removal of the reception counter and the provision of interview rooms, and development of an open plan office was applied for and granted by the Landlord. Later in the term, further alterations were agreed informally with the landlord, and as a result the premises were substantially altered into full open plan offices. At the end of the term, a holding over agreement was put in place for a further year. The Landlord not served the required notices, and as a result, at the end of the holding over period, the tenant simply vacated the premises and returned the keys, leaving the property in poor repair, and having failed to reinstate the premises to their original layout in accordance with the original Licence to Alter, and the subsequent informal written agreement. Following review of the Lease provisions, the Licence to Alter and associated correspondence, De Vos Consultancy Ltd. prepared an served a Schedule of Dilapidations and quantified demand, and after several months of negotiation, enabled the Landlord to agree a substantial financial out of court settlement in lieu of the reinstatement and refurbishment if the premises.
Office 2
After 30 years of tenancy with the same tenant, these offices had not been modernised or refurbished during the term, and were in generally very poor and tired order. Two months from the end of the term, the Landlord served an unpriced Schedule of Dilapidations on the retiring tenant of the practice. The tenant was required to keep the demised premises in good repair and tenantable order, and clearly had a considerable liability for works at the end of the term.
De Vos Consultancy Ltd. was instructed by the commercial tenant to limit their liability. Using experienced contractors, De Vos Consultancy Ltd. reviewed the Schedule of Dilapidations, developed a relevant yet limited schedule of works, tendered and instructed the works, and returned the demised premises into ‘good repair and tenantable order’ in a four week period, including erecting full scaffolding to the front and rear of the premises, roofing repairs, brickwork and render repairs, re-pointing, external redecorations, replacement rainwater goods and waste water pipes, significant repairs to external fire escape stairs, and internally, repairs to windows, internal doors, floor screed, partial retiring and replacement of light fittings, refurbishment of kitchenette and washrooms, replacement of floor coverings, and full redecorations. The cost the works was kept to a minimum whilst discharging the repairing liability of the tenant within the time constraints of the term, and as a result the premises was returned to the Landlord in ‘good repair and tenantable order’ by the end of the term and the Landlord’s case for financial redress was reduced to such an extent that no claim following termination of the lease was pursued.
