Really hope someone can advise here … have a small business and we rented an office from Workspace for 2.5 years. During that time, Workspace sold it to Savills and then they sold it to a property developer group.

We’ve moved out as our tenancy has come to an end and I’ve just received a schedule of works for dilapidations that comes to … £14.2K.

Many of the items listed seem unfair to me – e.g.
– it’s an old building and damp has been coming through a section of one wall; it was there when we moved in, has been treated by workspace but immediately reappeared
– it has sash windows and we got broken into several times, so Workspace installed iron bars and window locks but apparently these are binding and the ironmongery is incorrect!
– it has a wooden floor which was in reasonable condition and I’d say in pretty much the same condition now – they’re wanting £3.5k to sand and varnish

The list goes on with what I genuinely think is unreasonable demands, and their legal fees are very high.

What recourse do I have? It’s very formally presented and does include the mention of solicitor action if not resolved promptly. Haven’t got that money easily to hand and it’s a massive hit for us.

Help

Refer them to the previous test case of Arkell vs Pressdram.

Aus
You need to read the copy of the lease that you signed and determine what you’re actually liable for. You should have a schedule of condition with pics showing the state of the place when you moved in. Assuming you don’t have a liability to renew.. only keep in a like condition then you may be able to get some of the costs removed. It all boils down to reading the lease.

The services of an experienced surveyor will probably save you a good chunk of that bill. It should very much be treated as a starting point and not what they actually think they’ll get from you.

Jeff