Dilapidations documentation

The Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 gives business tenants an automatic right to renew their lease on condition that the provisions of the Act have been followed. It is not necessary for dilapidations surveyors to know the procedural details of 1954 Act renewals. However, they should be aware that such a right exists as occasionally the rights overlap with dilapidations cases. Where 1954 Act renewals apply, advice should be sought from solicitors. The implications of renewal leases and those which expressly exclude the Act need to be appreciated. For example, if, say, a tenant has been given permission to alter the building, unless there is an obligation on the tenant to reinstate those alterations at the end of the lease (which is enforced), when the renewal tenancy is entered into, the alterations generally would become part of the demise and so, when the renewal lease itself expires, there might not be an obligation on the tenant to remove them but perhaps only to leave them in a state of repair that accords with the tenant’s repairing obligations.

Some leases allow the term to be extended or the lease renewed at the tenant’s discretion. These leases also often have conditions precedent that operate in the same manner.