Commercial Refurbishment Contractors
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Dilapidations works

Standard reinstatement to Cat A
£320 to £590 per m²
Start planning
12 to 18 months before lease end
Prices
London published guide, April 2026

Dilapidations are the repairs, reinstatement and redecoration a tenant owes under a commercial lease when it ends. They are set out by the landlord's surveyor in a schedule of dilapidations, and settled either by the tenant doing the work before they leave or by a payment instead.

Doing the work yourself is often cheaper than paying the landlord's costed schedule, but only if it is planned early enough to finish before the lease expires.

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What a schedule usually asks for

Reinstatement
Removing the tenant's alterations (partitions, kitchens, cabling, signage) where the lease or licence for alterations requires it.
Repair
Putting right disrepair the tenant is liable for under the repairing covenant: damaged ceilings, worn floor finishes, failing services within the demise.
Redecoration
Decorating in the final year of the term, where the lease says so, usually to a stated standard and colour.
Statutory compliance
Items the tenant was obliged to keep compliant, such as fire alarm and emergency lighting within their space.

Schedule of rates, reinstatement

ItemScopeGuide cost
Light reinstatementStrip tenant items, make good, redecorate£160 to £320 per m²
Standard reinstatement to Cat ARemove partitions and tenant services, reinstate ceilings, lighting and floor£320 to £590 per m²
Full Cat A reinstatementRenew finishes and services to the lease standard£590 to £1,020 per m²
Independent review of a scheduleBy a building surveyor acting for the tenant£3,000 to £8,000

London office figures from a fit-out contractor's published guide (April 2026), converted from £15 to £95 per ft², before VAT. Complex or listed buildings sit above these ranges. A guide, not a quote. Build a budget in the cost plan.

Handling dilapidations well

The rules that frame the claim

In England and Wales, the Pre-Action Protocol for dilapidations claims sets out how a landlord should serve a schedule, how the tenant should respond, and the steps both should take before going to court. The RICS professional standard on dilapidations (7th edition) sets out how surveyors on both sides should behave, including that a schedule must only claim what the lease actually requires. Scotland has its own law and practice.

The section 18 cap

Section 18(1) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1927 limits damages for breach of a repairing covenant to the amount by which the disrepair reduces the value of the landlord's interest. If the landlord intends to demolish or substantially refurbish the building anyway, the loss may be much lower than the cost of the works listed. Take legal advice on whether it applies to your case.

Do the work, or pay?

Doing the work before the lease ends lets you control cost and quality, and a contractor working directly for you is often cheaper than the landlord's costed figure. It also needs time: survey, agreement of scope, a contractor, and weeks on site, all before the last day of the term. If time is short or the landlord plans a major refurbishment, a negotiated payment can be the better route.

Agree the standard in writing

Before work starts, agree with the landlord's surveyor exactly what will be done and to what standard, ideally against the schedule line by line. Photograph the space before and after. A schedule of condition taken at the start of the lease is the best evidence of what you are not liable for.

Where our information comes from

Cost ranges are typical figures from published UK cost guides and price guides, read November 2026, given before VAT. Firms that publish them are not named.

Send the lease end date and the size of the space. A contractor can price the schedule line by line.

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How the work gets done

A dilapidations job from schedule to handback.

  1. Read the lease

    Repair, reinstatement and decoration clauses, licences for alterations and any schedule of condition gathered together.

  2. Respond to the schedule

    A surveyor for the tenant agrees, disputes or reprices each item, within the Protocol timetable.

  3. Do the agreed works

    Strip-out, reinstatement, repairs and decoration to the agreed standard, finished before the term ends.

  4. Hand back

    Joint inspection with the landlord's surveyor, photographs, certificates for any services, and keys returned.

Dilapidations questions

What are dilapidations?

The breaches of a lease's repair, reinstatement and decoration covenants that exist when the lease ends, and the claim a landlord makes for them.

How much do dilapidations works cost?

For London offices, published contractor guides put light reinstatement at £160 to £320 per m², standard reinstatement to Cat A at £320 to £590 per m² and full Cat A reinstatement at £590 to £1,020 per m², before VAT. Regional work is usually cheaper.

When should we start?

Twelve to eighteen months before the lease ends is sensible for an office of any size. That leaves time to get advice, respond to an interim schedule, appoint a contractor and finish the work.

Can the landlord claim more than their loss?

In England and Wales, section 18(1) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1927 caps damages for disrepair at the reduction in the value of the landlord's interest. Take legal advice on how it applies.

Do we need a surveyor and a contractor?

Usually both. A building surveyor reviews and negotiates the schedule; a contractor prices and carries out the agreed works. Some contractors work alongside your surveyor to price each line.

Keep reading

Brief a contractor on dilapidations works

Three short steps: where the building is, what the scope is, and who to speak to. Rough answers are fine; a contractor firms them up on a site visit.

Your brief stays with us until you approve the independent commercial refurbishment contractor we name for your building.

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