Our approach in Portsmouth
We act for both landlords and tenants — though never both on the same matter — and we bring big-firm expertise within reach of smaller occupiers and professionals. Every client is allocated a chartered building surveyor, and our schedules are produced to a standard that can be passed straight to your solicitor for annexation to the lease. We work alongside commercial agents, solicitors and asset managers across South Hampshire to serve mutual clients, and we pride ourselves on being quicker, more flexible and more practical than the larger corporates.
What our Portsmouth Schedule of Condition records
Our schedules are comprehensive, photographic records of the property’s condition at a fixed point in time, structured to withstand scrutiny in any later dilapidations dispute. We document roof coverings and structure — inspected by drone as standard and at no additional cost; external elevations, walls, windows, rainwater goods and boundaries; internal fabric including floors, walls, ceilings, partitions, doors and finishes; mechanical and electrical services such as heating, ventilation, lighting and drainage; external areas including car parks, hardstandings, landscaping and fencing; and any existing alterations, fit-out items or bespoke features. Every element is described in plain, objective language and backed by high-quality photographs, so nothing is left open to interpretation. Where there is ambiguity — a crack, a stain, a corroded fixing — we record it. The finished document is suitable for annexation to your lease and can be agreed with the landlord’s surveyor where required.
How a Schedule of Condition limits your dilapidations liability
The connection between condition evidence at lease start and your dilapidations exposure at lease end is direct. Where a Schedule of Condition is properly recorded and annexed to the lease, your repairing obligations are typically qualified so you need only return the property to the condition evidenced at the outset — no better. Without one, the default starting point for a landlord’s claim is the full repairing standard implied by the lease. For Portsmouth premises exposed to a harsh coastal environment, where deterioration can be rapid and pre-existing, that distinction is especially important. We have helped tenants save over one million pounds in dilapidations claims, and time and again the strength of a tenant’s position has come down to the quality of the evidence captured at the start. If you are taking a new lease, ask about combining a Schedule of Condition with a commercial building survey at a reduced overall fee.
Who needs a Schedule of Condition in Portsmouth?
Any commercial tenant taking a new FRI lease in Portsmouth should consider a Schedule of Condition essential pre-signing protection. Landlords benefit too, gaining an agreed record of the condition in which premises were let, while builders and contractors working close to neighbouring property use schedules to guard against unfounded claims of damage. We also prepare schedules to supplement Party Wall awards. From an independent retailer at Gunwharf to a marine engineering business on Portsea Island or an office occupier at Lakeside North Harbour, the party holding clear condition evidence is always in the stronger position when the lease ends.
What affects the cost of a Schedule of Condition in Portsmouth?
No two Portsmouth properties are identical, so fees are tailored rather than fixed. Cost is driven mainly by the size of the premises, the complexity and age of the building, and its location. A single Southsea retail unit is a quick exercise compared with a multi-let industrial site or a marine-related building with extensive external metalwork and plant. Coastal Portsmouth buildings often carry more weather-related deterioration to record, which is precisely why the resulting evidence is so valuable. In nearly all cases the fee is small relative to the dilapidations liability the schedule can remove. Ask us for an estimated survey fee for a figure tailored to your property.
Combine your schedule with a commercial building survey
Where you are acquiring a freehold, or simply want to understand a building’s condition and future maintenance burden before committing, a commercial building survey alongside the Schedule of Condition is a sound investment. The survey identifies defects and likely costs so there are no surprises; the schedule locks down the agreed condition for dilapidations purposes. Commissioning both together is more efficient and attracts a reduced overall fee. Given Portsmouth’s exposed coastal environment, the combined approach is especially useful for understanding how weathering and corrosion may affect a building over the life of your lease.
Follow this link to find out more about how a commercial building survey can help prospective Tenants understand more about their property before entering into a new lease.
Commercial Building Surveys
How quickly can you turn a schedule around in Portsmouth?
We understand Portsmouth lease deals often need to complete quickly. For most commercial premises we can inspect within two to five working days of instruction and deliver the completed schedule within five working days thereafter. If your solicitor needs the document before exchange or completion, tell us your deadline and we will do our best to work to it.
I’ve already signed my Portsmouth lease. Is it too late?
A Schedule of Condition has the greatest contractual weight when prepared before the lease is signed and annexed to it. But it is rarely a wasted exercise even afterwards: a contemporaneous record made shortly after occupation still evidences condition at that time, and a mid-term survey ahead of renewal establishes a baseline before dilapidations exposure crystallises. The least advantageous moment is once a claim has already been served, when leverage is reduced — though even then our dilapidations team can help significantly.
