A dilapidation survey is an inspection carried out against a lease rather than against a building standard. The surveyor reads the repairing, decorating and reinstatement covenants first, then walks the property recording where the tenant has not met them. That is why two surveyors can inspect the same unit and produce different schedules: the lease, not the ceiling tile, decides what counts.
What the surveyor does on site
Works through the demise clause by clause, photographs each alleged breach, records the extent and locates it. Plant, services and the tenant's own alterations are covered separately because they usually sit under different covenants.
What the report contains
The lease references relied on, the breaches, the remedy proposed for each, and in a quantified demand, the cost. A tenant's report will add the arguments against: not a breach, superseded, or capped by section 18.
How it differs from a condition survey
A condition survey describes the building's state for its own sake, often for an acquisition or a maintenance plan. A dilapidation survey describes breaches of an obligation. The same defect can appear in both and mean quite different things.
Timing
For a landlord, near or at the end of the term. For a tenant, early enough to have options, which in practice means at least a year and preferably longer before the lease ends. The provision a tenant carries in its accounts should be sized from this exercise rather than from a rule of thumb.
Questions people ask about dilapidation survey
What is a dilapidation survey for?
To establish what a tenant owes under the repairing covenants of a commercial lease, either so a landlord can claim or so a tenant can budget and negotiate.
Is a dilapidation survey the same as a schedule of condition?
No, and the two are frequently confused. A schedule of condition records the state of a property at a moment, usually at lease entry. A dilapidation survey records breaches, usually at lease exit.
Who pays for the dilapidation survey?
Each party pays for its own surveyor. Whether the landlord can recover the cost of preparing a schedule depends on the lease.