Commercial

Dilapidations issues usually arise when a tenant fails to comply with their repair, reinstatement and redecoration obligations contained within a lease they have entered into.

Dilapidations is part of a legal process and begins with the preparation of a Schedule of Dilapidations in order to identify any breaches of lease covenant. The Schedule of Dilapidations would then be served on a tenant providing them with the option to undertake the works or agree a financial settlement for damages.

ABL Surveyors provides dilapidations services for both Landlords (in preparation and service) and Tenants (in defence of a served Schedule) as well as negotiation of any financial settlement for both.

ABL Surveyors provides the following Dilapidations services:

Preparation of interim/terminal claim for the Landlord.

Interim / terminal defence for the Tenant.

Negotiate financial settlement for the Landlord/Tenant.

Monitor works for the Landlord.
Assessment of dilapidations liability for the Tenant/Landlord.

Portfolio dilapidations management.

A Commercial Building survey is designed to offer you a detailed appraisal of a building, usually but not exclusively prior to purchase or taking on a lease of the building.

Our survey will identify any major defects or problems and thus assist you in negotiating a reduced price, prevent you from proceeding with an unwise purchase or, in the case of a leasehold premises, enabling you to exclude major defects from your repairing obligations.

The type of report prepared will give the purchaser/tenant a detailed account of the current condition of the building and will advise on all aspects of repair and maintenance, which in the case of a tenant are likely to arise during the term of the Lease. The report will also include a budget costing for any repairs, which are required to the premises, thus allowing for possible renegotiation of the purchase price where applicable.

It can also outline and give an estimate of cost of the dilapidations liability of an exiting tenant in an assignment of lease situation.

There are two types of Schedule of Condition to be considered:

Pre-Development Condition Survey.
Pre-Lease Condition Survey.

A Pre Development Schedule of Condition is a report prepared on an existing building prior to any development works being carried out adjacent or near by.

It records in detail with both text and photographs the existing condition of a building in advance of adjacent development such as demolition, piling or tunnelling. The report will identify the location, type and extent of any current defects such as cracking in order to allow for comparison in the event of an issue arising during the carrying out of the adjacent development.

ABL Surveyors can also undertake monitoring works of existing cracks in a building during the course of the nearby development in order to accurately determine if any movement or deterioration occurs.

At the commencement of a lease the tenant or landlord may wish to commission a Pre Lease Schedule of Condition to record the condition of the property.

This type of schedule establishes a factual record of the condition of the property at commencement and can prove a very useful tool for tenants seeking to exclude certain elements from their repairing obligations at the start of the lease. Equally the schedule can be used by a Landlord at the end of the term to prove that a defect did not exist at commencement. This type of condition survey will again record with text and photographs all relevant defects and condition etc. so as to protect the tenant in the event that a landlord serves a Schedule of Dilapidations on termination of the Lease.

Under many Lease arrangements, it is necessary for a tenant to obtain the consent of a landlord prior to carrying out any alterations or refurbishment of a leasehold premises.

Often a Lease will set out the tenant’s obligations to conform to all current planning and development requirements. In acting on behalf of landlords before granting of licence for alterations ABL Surveyors can ensure that the works proposed by a tenant will fully comply with all necessary statutory requirements and that the tenant will undertake to comply with their repairing obligations. In this area our experience also allows us to act on behalf of tenants where they wish to carryout alterations to a premises

As changes will often require compliance with statutory regulations and planning etc. we are in a position to make all necessary applications to Local Authorities for Change of Use, Planning and Fire Safety certification and formally obtain landlord’s consent to carryout works.

Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) Programmes provide recommendations and indicative budget costings for future maintenance works to the common parts, the external structure and fabric of managed buildings such as office developments and apartment schemes.

PPM is becoming an increasing aspect of building asset management and this service provides for pro-active advice for the renewal of building elements before failure thus preventing consequential damage, which can have severe affects on maintenance budgets. If required they can also include advice and costs on mechanical and electrical elements. They are formulated to minimise reactive maintenance costs and user disturbance whilst maximising the value and performance of the buildings.

ABL Surveyors PPMs are an invaluable tool to enable the building management team to set their service charges over the period of the programme, usually 5 or 10 years. A PPM report provides an itemised breakdown of each building element. Works can be programmed at the client’s discretion to meet the building management team’s particular requirements in the most economic manner to benefit from access provisions and economies of scale.

PPM programmes are an invaluable component of good estate management, of benefit to owners and occupiers alike.

In times of ever increasing insurance premiums it is becoming ever critical to ensure that your principle assets i.e. your building stock is adequately insured against loss.

ABL Surveyors can prepare accurate, up to date reinstatement costs which are based upon current market conditions and prices. This ensures that our Client’s are not paying excessive premiums whilst maintaining their appropriate levels of cover.

The Reinstatement Valuations are produced using published building cost information and our own in-house information from current or recent projects. Valuations can be undertaken on a one-off basis or reviewed annually where required.

An accurate property reinstatement valuation could save you money on your insurance premiums by accurately determining the value of your property before you obtain a quotation.

If your property is undervalued, you might not receive the full value of your insurance claim. Although many buildings insurance policies are index-linked, it still makes sense to obtain regular reinstatement valuations to make sure that you have sufficient cover.

In order for a Local Authority, investor or other stake holder to make effective investment decisions and to implement meaningful long term planning in respect of a large stock of buildings a client needs to have accurate and up to date information on the condition of the stock and its future requirements for maintenance, repair and improvement.
ABL Surveyors can prepare a full elemental profile of the condition of the stock to include:

The extent and cost of Catch Up repairs
The extent and cost of planned repairs
The extent and cost of proposed necessary improvement works including environmental improvements
The estimated future costs and extent of cyclical maintenance to maintain the stock including service repair contracts over 30 years
The estimated cost of responsive repairs
The estimated costs of void repairs
Contingency allowances for major works which are not specifically foreseeable
Allowances for adaptations to assist the disabled.

ABL Surveyors can give expert advice on the legislation regarding Protected Structure. We can also prepare both Section 5 and Section 57 applications under the Planning & Development Act 2000-2002.

ABL Surveyors can also complete and lodge applications for grant assistance to both Local Authorities, The Heritage Council and The Irish Georgian Society.

ABL Surveyors can submit to a Local Authority a request for a Section 57 Declaration which would set out the type of works which the Authority considers would or would not materially affect the character of the structure or any element of the structure, thereby clarifying which works would be considered exempted development. Applications can also be prepared under Section 5 of the Planning and Development Act 2000-2002, for submission to the Local Authority for a declaration as to what in any particular case is or is not exempted development within the meaning of the Act.

The long term provision for the maintenance and repair of multi-unit apartment blocks is of critical importance. There is now a statutory requirement under the Multi Unit Development Act 2011 that management companies establish a Building Investment Fund or a Sinking Fund for the purposes of refurbishment, improvement or maintenance of a non-recurring nature in the development.

This sinking fund money is put aside every year from the service charges budget to cover the cost of major long-term expenses. While the service charges budget is generally used to fund the costs of the day to day maintenance of the common areas, a portion of the budget should also be set aside to cater for periodical or long term repairs for items such as roofs, lifts, internal/external decoration, floor coverings etc.

ABL Surveyors can prepare a site specific planned maintenance programme which will include an assessment of the life of parts of the building and the likely costs of replacement or other works at the anticipated time of carrying them out. The assessment would outline the key factors involved such as the intended lifespan of assets to be covered by the sinking fund, the estimated schedule of work, the lifecycle of structural materials and components.

ABL Surveyors can provide your organisation with detailed floor plans prepared in AutoCAD in accordance with International Property Measurement Standards (IPMS). We will calculate the IPMS1, IPMS2 and IPMS3 floor area standards to accurately determine floor areas for leasehold properties.

By using IPMS, investors are able to benchmark their property portfolios to a recognised standard rather than spending time and effort creating bespoke standards, or calibrating and translating reports produced to the previous standards. Importantly, the IPMS is designed to work alongside existing recognised international standards for accountancy (International Financial Reporting Standards – IFRS) and valuation (International Valuation Standards – IVS), making financial reporting more transparent too.

IPMS should be adopted for all new building leases and ABL can provide detailed floor area calculations for offices and in due course for retail, industrial and residential properties as the standards are adopted for these building types.