Schedule of Condition: Why Landlords Should Care

A schedule of condition is a record of the state of a property at the start of a lease. It sounds like a tenant protection, and it is, so a landlord needs to understand what agreeing to one gives away.

What it does

A schedule of condition, usually with photographs, records the property's condition when the lease begins. Where the lease says the tenant need only return the property in no worse condition than recorded, the schedule caps the tenant's repairing obligation at that starting state. The tenant does not have to hand back a property in better condition than they took it.

The landlord's view

For a landlord, a schedule of condition limits your future dilapidations claim. If the building was already tired, the tenant is only obliged to keep it at that level, so you cannot claim for pre-existing wear at the end. On a new or well-maintained building you may not want to agree one at all.

When it is appropriate

Schedules of condition are common where the property is older or not in perfect repair, and are often the subject of negotiation in the heads of terms. Whether to accept one, and how it is worded, directly affects your dilapidations position years later.

Get the wording right

The value of a schedule of condition lies in how the lease refers to it. Have a surveyor prepare it and a solicitor tie the lease wording to it correctly. See the dilapidations guide.

What is a schedule of condition?

A record, usually with photographs, of a property's state at the start of a lease. Where the lease refers to it, it caps the tenant's repairing obligation at that condition.

Should a landlord agree to a schedule of condition?

It limits your future dilapidations claim, so it suits older buildings but may not suit a new or well-maintained one.