Commercial Building Surveys
There are many different surveys relating to commercial premises required at different stages of a properties occupation. It is important the correct survey is chosen for its intended use. Following are a few examples of surveys we carry out on a regular basis for properties of a few hundred square foot to office and industrial space up to 200,000 sq ft.
Pre-Acquisition Surveys for Purchases
It is just as important to instruct a pre-acquisition building survey for a commercial property as it is for a residential property. As with residential premises commercial properties can be concealing significant works which should be picked up before purchasing and taken into account in the purchase price.
Pre-Acquisition Surveys for Leasehold Commercial Premises: Schedule of Condition
If you are thinking about signing a lease for a commercial property it is recommended the condition of the building is related to the terms of the lease. All too often tenants sign leases without understanding their repairing obligations. If you do not get appropriate legal advice and combine this with a survey of the building you could end up having to replace complete elements of a building i.e. the roof upon moving in or vacating, which otherwise could have been avoided.
The same applies if you are thinking of purchasing a business with leasehold premises, as your name will be put on the existing lease(s) (the leases will be assigned to you) and as a result you will be responsible for any repairing obligations as well as reinstatement of any alterations that may have occurred since the original lease commencement date. In these circumstances a pre-occupation dilapidation assessment would be appropriate.
The best way of mitigating these liabilities is by instructing a Chartered Surveyor, well versed in dilapidations to prepare a Schedule of Condition, which is a very effective tool to limit the tenant’s repairing obligations and ensuring the tenant is not obliged to return the property in any better condition evidenced at lease commencement.
A schedule of condition can be instructed by either the landlord or the tenant but is usually requested by the tenant
AK Property Consultants prepares detailed and accurate Schedules of Condition either on a purely photographic or photographic and written basis for both landlord and tenants at competitive rates and with quick turnarounds.
Dilapidation surveys
AK Property Consultants takes a very commercial approach to the preparation of dilapidation assessments, the subsequent negotiations and supervision of the compliance works. We have saved tenants significant amounts of money by negotiating lower settlements for them when they have been served with a schedule by the landlord. We have also achieved very good results for landlords enabling their property to be returned in a tenantable condition, limiting vacant periods. We get involved with anything from small retail units a few hundred square foot in size to commercial premises in excess of 200,000 sq ft including industrial, office and retail premises.
The schedules we produce are prepared in full compliance with the RICS 7th Edition Guidance notes on dilapidations and the Property Litigation Association’s Pre-Action Protocol for dilapidations (The Dilapidation Protocol), which the courts would look favourably upon, when considering the issue of costs, in the unlikely event the claim would have to be decided by the courts.
As we also have extensive experience in valuing commercial property, we are well positioned to undertake S18(1) diminution vlauations to support or defend against dilapidations claims.
