Landlord and Tenant Act 1927, section 18
What do dilapidations cost?
Two different numbers travel under this heading. One is the surveyor's fee for preparing or answering a schedule, which is a professional fee. The other is the claim, which is a damages figure capped by section 18(1) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1927 at the diminution in the value of the landlord's reversion. They are not the same thing and they are not the same order of magnitude. This page separates them, then puts your matter in front of dilapidations surveyors.
Three steps
- Tell us which side you are on, the premises and where you are in the lease. Two minutes, no account.
- We pass your details to dilapidations surveyors covering the building's location, and to no one else.
- They contact you with a fee proposal against a written scope. Compare, appoint, or walk away.
Dilapidations Cost is an independent site and free introduction service operated by Ellul Solutions Ltd; we pass your details to dilapidations surveyors who send you fee proposals directly. We may receive a fee from those surveyors; you pay nothing and are under no obligation. We are not a firm of surveyors or solicitors, we are not affiliated with or endorsed by RICS, the Ministry of Justice or any body named on this site, and nothing here is legal, valuation, tax or accounting advice. We separate surveyors' fees from claim values deliberately, and we do not publish cost per square foot figures, because section 18(1) makes recovery a question about your own landlord's reversion.
The separate money lines in a dilapidations matter, 2026
Last updated
The word cost is doing at least six different jobs in this subject, and confusing them is how tenants over-provide and landlords over-claim. This table separates each money line, says what it actually is, who normally bears it, and what moves it.
We publish the structure of the money rather than headline prices, because surveyors' fees are scoped case by case and the claim itself is capped by statute rather than set by a rate card. Section 18(1) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1927 caps damages for breach of a repairing covenant at the diminution in the value of the landlord's reversion caused by the breach, so no cost-per-square-foot figure can be a reliable statement of liability. Procedural points are taken from the Pre-Action Protocol for Claims for Damages in Relation to the Physical State of Commercial Property at Termination of a Tenancy (the dilapidations protocol), published by the Ministry of Justice; statutory points are taken from legislation.gov.uk. Both are linked in the sources below. Request fee proposals through the form above for figures against your own matter.
| Money line | What it actually is | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| Landlord's surveyor fee, preparing the schedule | A professional fee for inspecting the premises, reading the lease and licences, and preparing and endorsing a schedule of dilapidations | Floor area, building complexity, number of licences for alterations to trace, and whether costings are included in the schedule |
| Tenant's surveyor fee, responding | A professional fee for inspecting, testing each alleged breach against the actual covenants, and preparing a response to the schedule and quantified demand | The length of the schedule served, how well evidenced it is, and whether the response has to run to a full item-by-item rebuttal |
| Diminution valuation fee | A separate valuation exercise measuring the effect of the breaches on the value of the landlord's reversion. It is a valuation instruction, not part of preparing a schedule | Whether a formal valuation is needed at all, the property type, and the availability of comparable evidence |
| The claim itself | The damages sought: cost of remedial works, plus items such as loss of rent for the period reasonably needed to do them, professional fees and, where applicable, reinstatement of alterations | The covenants in the lease, the schedule of condition if there is one, supersession by the landlord's own intended works, betterment, and the section 18(1) cap |
| Reinstatement of tenant alterations | A separate obligation, usually created by a licence for alterations rather than by the repairing covenant, to put the premises back before yield up | What each licence actually requires, whether the landlord has elected to require reinstatement, and by when notice had to be given |
| Negotiation and settlement work | Time spent narrowing the schedule, meeting on site, and agreeing a settlement figure without proceedings | How far apart the parties start, whether both surveyors are engaging with the protocol, and whether alternative dispute resolution is used |
| Legal costs | Solicitors' costs on the lease interpretation, the protocol correspondence and any proceedings. Distinct from surveyors' fees | Whether the lease terms are genuinely in dispute, whether the matter settles pre-action, and how the parties conduct themselves under the protocol |
- Section 18(1) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1927 provides that damages for a breach of a covenant to keep or put premises in repair shall in no case exceed the amount by which the value of the landlord's reversion is diminished owing to the breach, which is why a schedule total is a starting point rather than a liability.
- Section 18(1) also bars damages for failing to leave premises in repair where it is shown that the premises would, at or shortly after the termination of the tenancy, have been pulled down or structurally altered so as to render the repairs valueless.
- The dilapidations protocol states that schedules should be sent within a reasonable time, generally within 56 days after the termination of the tenancy, and that the tenant should usually respond to the quantified demand within 56 days of it being sent.
- The protocol requires the schedule to be endorsed by the landlord, or by the landlord's surveyor where a surveyor prepared it, confirming that the works set out are reasonably required to remedy the breaches and that any costings are reasonable.
- The fee for preparing or responding to a schedule is a professional fee scoped on floor area and complexity; it is a separate and much smaller number than the claim the schedule concerns.
Cite this page
“The separate money lines in a dilapidations matter, 2026”, Dilapidations Cost, https://dilapidationscost.co.uk/ (updated 2026-08-14). We publish the structure of the money rather than headline prices, because surveyors' fees are scoped case by case and the claim itself is capped by statute rather than set by a rate card. Section 18(1) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1927 caps damages for breach of a repairing covenant at the diminution in the value of the landlord's reversion caused by the breach, so no cost-per-square-foot figure can be a reliable statement of liability. Procedural points are taken from the Pre-Action Protocol for Claims for Damages in Relation to the Physical State of Commercial Property at Termination of a Tenancy (the dilapidations protocol), published by the Ministry of Justice; statutory points are taken from legislation.gov.uk. Both are linked in the sources below. Request fee proposals through the form above for figures against your own matter.
Guides
The longer answers, with sources.
- Dilapidations survey cost: what the surveyor's fee actually covers
The fee to prepare or answer a schedule of dilapidations is a professional fee, separate from the claim. What it covers, what moves it, and how to compare proposals.
- Schedule of dilapidations: interim, terminal, and what it must contain
What a schedule of dilapidations is, the difference between interim and terminal schedules, the protocol's endorsement requirement, and how a tenant should respond.
- The dilapidations protocol: the timetable both sides are judged against
The pre-action protocol for terminal dilapidations claims: 56 days for the schedule and quantified demand, 56 days to respond, diminution valuation, ADR and stocktake.
- Section 18: the cap that turns a schedule total into a real number
Section 18(1) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1927 caps repairing damages at the diminution in the landlord's reversion, and bars them where premises are to be demolished.
- Office dilapidations: fit-out, reinstatement and the per square foot trap
Why office dilapidations turn on licences for alterations and reinstatement rather than repair, and why a cost per square foot benchmark will not support a provision.
Common questions
How much do dilapidations cost?
Two numbers travel under that question. The surveyor's fee to prepare or respond to a schedule is a professional fee, scoped on floor area, building complexity, whether the schedule is costed and how many licences for alterations have to be traced. The claim is separate and much larger, and is capped by section 18(1) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1927 at the diminution in the value of the landlord's reversion caused by the breaches.
What is a dilapidations claim?
A landlord's claim for damages for a tenant's breaches of the repairing, decorating, reinstatement and yield-up covenants in a commercial lease. Terminal claims run under the dilapidations pre-action protocol, which expects an endorsed schedule, a quantified demand, a tenant response and quantification of loss by a diminution valuation or an account of actual expenditure.
Who pays for the schedule of dilapidations?
Each side pays its own surveyor for the work it instructs. A landlord may seek to recover certain professional fees as part of its claim, and some leases contain provisions about costs, but that is a question about the claim and the lease terms rather than about what your own surveyor charges you.
Can a dilapidations claim be more than the cost of the works?
It can include items beyond the works themselves, such as loss of rent for the period reasonably required to carry them out and certain professional fees. But the total is capped by section 18(1) at the diminution in the value of the landlord's reversion caused by the breaches, and damages are barred where the premises would have been pulled down or structurally altered so as to render the repairs valueless.
When should a tenant get dilapidations advice?
Earlier than most do. Twelve to eighteen months before expiry there is still time to carry out works yourself at your own contractor's price rather than pay damages calculated on the landlord's, and before a break date the break conditions themselves need checking. The most valuable moment of all is before signing the lease, when a schedule of condition can be annexed.
Is this quote service really free?
Yes, free to you, with no obligation to appoint anyone. We pass your details only to dilapidations surveyors covering the location of the premises, who send you fee proposals directly. We may receive a fee from those surveyors, which is how the service is funded.