For tenants and landlords near a lease end
Terminal vs Interim Schedule of Dilapidations
Sviatoslav JerdetchiiCEO & Founder of Craftex. Updated , 5 min read
The short answer
An interim schedule of dilapidations is served during the lease to make the tenant repair. A terminal schedule is served at or near the end and leads to a claim for damages, on a different timetable.
- Interim: repairs during the term, enforced by notice, entry or, rarely, forfeiture.
- Terminal: a damages claim after the lease ends, under the Dilapidations Protocol.
- Terminal schedules generally follow within 56 days of the lease end, with a quantified demand.
- The tenant usually responds within 56 days, then both sides meet to settle.
A terminal schedule of dilapidations is the landlord's list of breaches served at or near the end of a lease. An interim schedule is served while the lease is still running. They look alike on paper, but they lead to different remedies, timetables and risks.
For a tenant, knowing which one you hold tells you what happens next. It also tells you how much time you have.
This guide compares the two, explains the quantified demand and the timetable, and shows how a tenant should respond and settle. It also covers the landlord's side. We give tenant dilapidations claim support: one team prices the schedule, negotiates it and can do the works. Holding a schedule now? Get your schedule priced.
Interim schedule during the lease
RICS describes an interim schedule as one prepared to get breaches fixed during the lease. It does not deal with what happens when you hand the premises back.
A landlord usually serves one when it thinks the premises are being let go. It wants the repairs done while you are still there. Its options depend on the lease:
- Ask the tenant to repair. Often the first step, backed by the schedule.
- Enter and do the works. Many leases allow this, then recover the cost. RICS calls these Jervis v Harris clauses and urges caution.
- Claim damages or forfeit. Forfeiture needs a section 146 notice first.
Terminal schedule at the end
A terminal schedule is prepared at or shortly after the end of the lease. RICS notes the term is also used for one served shortly before the end, in anticipation of it.
Once the lease has ended, the landlord's usual remedy is damages. The terminal schedule is the basis of that claim. It lists every breach, the works to remedy it and, usually, the cost.
| Interim schedule | Terminal schedule | |
|---|---|---|
| When | During the lease | At or near the end |
| Covers | Repair during the term | Repair, redecoration and reinstatement at yield-up |
| Usual remedy | Repairs, entry to do works, damages, forfeiture | Damages |
| Costed | Only if damages or forfeiture are pursued | Yes, costings are essential |
| Protocol | No, general pre-action conduct | Yes, the Dilapidations Protocol |
Repair damages are capped by section 18(1) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1927. They cannot exceed the fall in the value of the landlord's interest. Our guide to section 18 valuation explains the cap.
Quantified demand and the timetable
A terminal schedule comes with a quantified demand. That is the landlord's claim for money, built on the schedule plus any other losses.
The Dilapidations Protocol sets the pace. Its timescales are what the court expects, not hard deadlines, but a party that ignores them weakens its own case.
- Schedule and quantified demand. Generally within 56 days after the lease ends.
- Tenant's response. Usually within 56 days after the quantified demand.
- Meeting. Generally within 28 days after the response, without prejudice.
- Alternative dispute resolution. Considered before anyone goes to court.
A late schedule does not end the claim. Where the lease is a deed, the limitation period is twelve years.
Responding as a tenant
The response goes on the landlord's own schedule, line by line. Each line gets your view and your cost. That turns it into a Scott schedule.
For every item, ask four questions:
- Does the lease really require this?
- Is it a breach, compared with the state you took the premises in?
- Is the remedy right, or is it an upgrade?
- Is the price what the work would really cost?
Then flag anything the landlord's own plans will make pointless. The Protocol asks the tenant to name those items and give the evidence. Our guide to the Scott schedule shows the columns.
Our own RICS-qualified quantity surveyor prices each line from current builders' rates. Our own crews do the work, so the figure is one we will build for.
We recently worked with Sviat and the Craftex team on a complete warehouse refurbishment, and the results have been outstanding. From the very beginning, their team was professional, organized, and attentive to every detail. The project was completed on time and within budget, without disrupting our day-to-day operations.
Serving an interim or terminal schedule as a landlord
Landlords face the same choice from the other side. The right schedule depends on when you act and what you want.
- During the lease: an interim schedule gets repairs done while the tenant is in. Take legal advice before relying on entry or forfeiture.
- Near the end: a terminal schedule served before the end date lets the tenant do the works in time. Confirm or update it once the lease ends.
- After the end: a terminal schedule and quantified demand, generally within 56 days, start the Protocol process.
A claim that survives negotiation is costed realistically, separates repair from reinstatement and reflects your real plans for the building. Our dilapidation works for landlords put the floor back in lettable condition between tenants.
Settling before the end date
The cheapest terminal schedule is the one that never needs serving. A tenant who acts in the last year of the lease can settle on its own terms.
| Before the end date | After the end date | |
|---|---|---|
| Who does the works | The tenant, at its own cost | The landlord, funded by damages |
| What is paid | The real cost of the works | An agreed sum, often negotiated down |
| Rent | Works must finish inside the term | No more rent, but the claim runs on |
| Control | High | Lower |
Doing the works yourself needs time and access. At Beaumont House in Kensington, our client had five weeks left on the old lease. We refurbished 750 sq m of new offices in three weeks.
One team, one point of contact: we price the schedule, negotiate with your landlord and, if it costs less, do the works before you leave. Get your schedule priced while there is still time to choose.
When a schedule of dilapidations arrives
- Check whether it is interim or terminal.
- Note the dates: lease end, schedule, quantified demand.
- Diarise the 56-day response.
- Read the lease, licences and any schedule of condition.
- Price every line as a builder would.
- Flag superseded items and the section 18 cap.
