Received a dilapidations claim in Basingstoke? We act for tenants, challenging overstated claims, including those from the large corporate firms, and negotiating them down to what is genuinely owed.
When a commercial lease in Basingstoke ends, particularly on the town’s large office and industrial units, the dilapidations claim that follows can be substantial. Bressummer A.R.K. are RICS chartered building surveyors acting for commercial tenants across Basingstoke and north Hampshire, assessing, challenging and negotiating these claims so you pay only what you are genuinely liable for. We know the local market, and we know how to take apart an inflated claim, regardless of which firm has prepared it.
A dilapidations claim is the landlord’s end-of-lease demand for the cost of remedying alleged breaches of your repairing, decorating and reinstatement obligations. Basingstoke’s commercial stock, from the offices at Basing View to the large industrial, warehouse and distribution units along the M3 corridor and the Daneshill and Houndmills estates, is largely held on full repairing and insuring (FRI) terms. On big buildings, the repairing burden, and therefore the potential claim, can be very large indeed, running well into six figures on a major industrial unit. Yet the opening claim is so often overstated, including items that are not your responsibility, betterment that improves the landlord’s asset, works that will never be carried out, and costs pitched above the realistic level. On large units, even a modest percentage of inflation represents a very large sum, which is precisely why expert tenant representation is so valuable here.
For a tenant facing a substantial claim, the real question is not whether expert defence is worthwhile but how much can be saved, and we will give you an honest assessment of that at the outset, so you can decide with full information before committing.
Our fees are typically structured in two stages, as per the below.
For the initial review and response stage we base these on a fixed amount based on the property size, as per the table below.
| Property Size (sq ft) | Estimated Fees (exclusive of VAT) |
| Under 1,000 | < £1,200 |
| 1,000 – 2,000 | £1,200 – £1,500 |
| 2,000 – 5,000 | £1,500 – £2,000 |
| 5,000 – 10,000 | £2,000 – £2,500 |
| 10,000 + | £2,500+ |
For this stage we typically offer incentivised fees of between 5% – 10% of the amount of saving we achieve against the Landlord’s original claim.
On smaller claims of below £30,000 we tend to cover our fees for negotiation on a time charge basis, at £185 per hour (plus VAT).
Our fees for assessing and negotiating a dilapidations claim is usually a small fraction of the saving we secure, so the exercise commonly pays for itself several times over.
Fees depend chiefly on the size and type of property and the complexity of the claim, and we are always clear and transparent about them up front.
All our fees are fully inclusive of travel, office and disbursement costs in order to carry out our services, with no ‘hidden extras’.
Fill out the form below with some detail of your situation and a property address and we aim to respond within 2 hours, within the working day.
Alternatively you can contact us directly on the phone or over email:
Telephone - 01962 656 520
Email - sales@bressummerark.co.uk
Excellent Service! We recently engaged with Bressummer to manage the dilapidation process and carry out a full surveyor’s survey for the office premises we were vacating. Their service was excellent from start to finish; thorough, transparent, and highly efficient. Harjit guided us through each stage, provided clear advice, and ultimately helped reduce our dilapidation costs. I highly recommend them for anyone needing expert support with commercial property dilapidations.
Julie - Aion Silicon, Reading
We want Basingstoke tenants to understand this: an intimidating claim from a major national surveying firm is not the final word it pretends to be. Many dilapidations claims, especially on the larger institutional-owned units around the town, are prepared by big corporate practices, and they arrive long, detailed and confidently presented, engineered to feel non-negotiable. They are not. A great deal of what they contain can be challenged, reduced or struck out, and a large, polished claim is not necessarily an accurate one. We are not intimidated by the big firms at all. We handle their schedules regularly, we know the standard inflations and tactics, and we relish holding them to account item by item. Our tenants get a senior chartered surveyor personally contesting every element of the claim, matching the landlord’s expertise and applying it wholly for the tenant. We have saved clients over £1.65 million pounds through dilapidations negotiation, a great deal of it by robustly challenging claims that a less confident adviser might simply have accepted, and on Basingstoke’s large units the sums at stake make that determination especially worthwhile.
Below are some key stats on how we have advised and help support our clients through stressful dilapidations claims.
26
600,000+
Over £1.65 million
Our approach is thorough and focused entirely on reducing your liability to the minimum properly due. We begin by reviewing your lease, including the repairing, decorating, reinstatement and yielding-up covenants, along with any schedule of condition and alteration licences, to establish your genuine liability. We then inspect the property and assess the landlord’s claim item by item, removing anything that is not your responsibility, that represents betterment, that is overstated, or that falls away under the lease or a schedule of condition. We consider the Section 18 cap, which can limit your liability to the actual loss in value to the landlord’s interest, often far below the cost of the works claimed, a point that can be highly significant on a large building. We then prepare your response and negotiate directly with the landlord’s surveyor to drive the figure down to a fair settlement. Our roof and high-level inspections use drone technology as standard and at no additional cost, which is especially valuable on the extensive roofs of Basingstoke’s industrial units.
We act for commercial occupiers of all kinds across Basingstoke, including office tenants at Basing View and across the town centre, industrial, warehouse and distribution occupiers along the M3 corridor and on the Daneshill and Houndmills estates, and retail and trade-counter tenants throughout the town. Whether you are a small business facing a first claim or a national operator exiting a large distribution unit, you receive the same senior, determined representation. If your lease has not yet ended, involving us early gives us the best chance to plan, budget and reduce your exposure before a claim is made, which on a large unit can mean very significant savings.
Come to us as early as possible, ideally before the lease ends, or the moment a schedule of dilapidations or claim arrives. These claims usually follow strict Dilapidations Protocol timescales, and early advice gives us the greatest scope to protect you. Even if a claim has been sitting unresolved for some time, or negotiations have stalled, it is seldom too late for us to step in and improve your position. The one thing we would urge any Basingstoke tenant not to do is to pay an opening claim without having it independently checked, because on a large unit in particular, that opening figure is so often heavily negotiable.
Extensive experience acting for tenants means we know where Basingstoke claims, particularly on large units, tend to overreach. We routinely challenge claims for full roof and cladding replacement where repair is all the lease requires, which on big industrial roofs can involve very large sums; redecoration beyond the genuine obligation; reinstatement of alterations that were licensed or that the landlord would prefer to keep; service, floor and finish upgrades amounting to betterment; and professional fees or loss of rent that are not properly recoverable. On the M3-corridor distribution units we pay particular attention to inflated claims for roofs, floor slabs, yards and loading doors, where the largest overstatements usually sit. Every item we reduce or remove is money retained by your business.
When the sums are large, knowing whose side your surveyor is truly on matters all the more. We will not act for your landlord. RICS rules prevent a firm from acting for both parties to the same dilapidations claim, and when we act for a tenant we are entirely and only on your side. Our sole focus is the minimum you are genuinely liable for and the strongest evidence-led case for getting there. That undivided alignment with your interests, combined with our willingness to take on the very largest landlord-side firms, is what shapes the final figure, and on Basingstoke’s large units, the savings can be considerable.
Now. On large industrial and office units, the biggest savings come before a claim is served. A tenant dilapidations assessment shows what the landlord is likely to claim, so you can budget, carry out targeted works with your own contractors, or negotiate a settlement before you leave. Twelve to eighteen months out is ideal.
The Dilapidations Protocol generally expects a tenant to respond within 56 days of receiving the landlord’s claim. On a large building, reviewing the lease, inspecting the property and testing the costings takes time. Send us the claim, your lease and any licences for alterations straight away.
Yes. Opening claims are routinely overstated, and on large units even a small percentage of inflation is a big sum. We have saved tenants over £1.65 million in total, including more than £1.2 million on a single claim. Paying the first demand is rarely wise.
Roofs and cladding claimed for full replacement where repair would satisfy the lease. Floor slabs, yards and loading doors. Redecoration beyond the actual obligation, and service upgrades that amount to betterment. On M3-corridor units these items usually carry the largest figures, so they get the closest scrutiny.
Not always. Whether you must reinstate depends on your lease and any licence for alterations, and many leases require it only if the landlord serves notice. If the landlord would keep the installations, or strip the unit for a new tenant anyway, the reinstatement claim may be worth much less than it appears.
It can transform the claim. Under Section 18 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1927, no damages are recoverable for repairs that the landlord’s intended demolition or substantial alterations would make worthless. Planned refurbishment can also supersede many of the items claimed, which is often relevant to older office buildings being repositioned or converted.
Section 18 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1927 caps a landlord’s damages for disrepair at the actual fall in value of their interest in the property. On a large building that figure can be far below the cost of the works claimed. On bigger claims, we can work alongside a valuation surveyor to evidence it.
Our initial review and response is a fixed fee based on property size. It runs from under £1,200 for premises under 1,000 sq ft to £2,500+ for units over 10,000 sq ft. Negotiation is usually charged at 5–10% of the saving we achieve, or £185 per hour for claims under £30,000. Fees exclude VAT and include travel.
Yes, regularly. Many claims on Basingstoke’s institutionally owned units come from national surveying practices. A long, polished schedule is not necessarily a correct one, and a senior chartered surveyor will test every item for you.
Yes. We act for tenants across Basingstoke, including Basing View, Chineham, Daneshill, Houndmills and the M3 corridor, and throughout north Hampshire. Our office at Hursley is straight up the M3, and our fees include travel.
