Western Building Consultants have gained vast experience surveying commercial properties in Bath. We have carried out all kinds of work including valuations for rebuild costs and surveys of historic commercial properties in the centre of Bath, we can also advise you whether you need listed building consent for any planned alterations and give you advice regarding dilapidations claims. If you need land registry or lease plans we can carry out measured surveys at the same time and even provide Energy Performance Certificates where needed.
Types of Commercial Building Surveys
If you are purchasing a commercial property, a building survey will provide a detailed report on the condition of a building, highlighting any defects, outlining the current condition and advising if any maintenance will be required in the future. The report will state what the building is constructed from, whether there are any Listed Building implications or point out if there any future liability issues. We often carry out this service in line with a review of the draft lease to comment on possible liabilities, it can also assist with the possibility of negotiating a better price with the vendor.
If you are leasing a property Commercial leases usually involve dilapidation procedures, whereby a tenant is often liable for repairs to the premises, in this instance a building survey is vital to clarify in detail the condition of the building. Suggestions for remedial works may also be given in the report and we can arrange for a project administrator to oversee the works for you. If you are going to be a tenant, it is vital you understand future repair costs and how the implications of this can affect lease negotiations.
If you have a lease that requires you to maintain the building a planned maintenance report is vital to ensure the building is maintained during your operation and to reduce the likelihood of a large bill from dilapidation at the end of the lease.
Planned Maintenance Reports (PMR) allow you to budget for repairs and schedule them in to minimise disruption to your business. As a business the PMR facilitates better cash flow forecasting, stops defects in the property progressing damaging other areas and costing more money, ensure that the building is fit for purpose for the occupants, minimising the disruption to the business, avoids costly legal disputes and maintains the value of the asset.
The schedule of condition is a vitally important document that often isn’t attached to a lease. The schedule describes and records photographs of the interior and exterior condition of the building at the date the lease is enacted. This serves as a benchmark for the condition and is usually used as evidence for the basis of damage or dilapidation claims. This report will describe in detail, the condition of every part of the property. This is important for tenants who have a liability within the lease to return the property to its original condition at the end of the term of the lease and has the potential to avoid disputes and save money if a schedule of condition is not carried out and the condition was not accurately described.
“‘Dilapidations’ refers to breaches of lease covenants that relate to the condition of a property during the term of the tenancy or when the lease ends.” RICS 2013
Western Building Consultants can expertly advise both tenants and landlords in regards to dilapidations claims in Bath. These typically arise at the end of the lease and it is extremely important that both the tenant and landlord take professional advice to ensure the claim accurately reflects reality. Dilapidations are items of disrepair or defects which tenants are required to rectify or pay to have remedied under covenants contained in a lease. Leases typically allow for dilapidations claims under the lease for repairing covenants, decorating covenants, covenants to comply with statute/regulations or covenants which require reinstatement of a property to a specified standard at the end of the lease.
Please visit our dilapidations service page for more information, if you would like to get a quotation for any or our RICS Commercial Building Surveying services please call 01225 789307 or email [email protected]