Dilapidations Explained: How to Avoid the £40,000 Exit Bill

Why “It was like that when I moved in” is the most expensive sentence in the English language.

It is the happiest day of your life: You finally sold the lease. You handed back the keys. You are free.

Three weeks later, a heavy envelope arrives from the Pubco’s solicitor.

Inside is a document called a “Terminal Schedule of Dilapidations.” It demands £42,500 for repairs.

• Repoint Cellar Archway: £4,000
• Replace Bar Top: £6,500
• Resurface Car Park: £12,000

You scream: “But the car park was full of potholes when I moved in 10 years ago!”

The Solicitor simply asks: “Can you prove it?”

If you cannot produce a dated, high-resolution photo from 10 years ago proving that crack existed, you are legally liable to fix it. This is the Dilapidations Trap, and it bankrupts more publicans than bad beer.

1. The “Put and Keep” Nightmare

Most commercial pub leases are “Full Repairing and Insuring” (FRI). Hidden inside is a deadly clause that usually says you must “Put and Keep” the property in good repair.

“Put and Keep” means: If the roof is leaking on Day 1, and you sign the lease, you have just agreed to fix the roof. You must “Put” it into repair, even if you didn’t break it.

The only way to survive this is the Schedule of Condition (SoC)—a document that limits your liability to the state of the pub when you entered.

2. Why Your “Paper File” is Worthless

“I have a Schedule of Condition!” you say. “It’s in a binder somewhere.”

Here is why that binder will lose you £40,000:

1. It gets lost: In 10 years, binders get lost in cellar floods, fires, or office moves.
2. It lacks detail: A grainy, printed photo of a room doesn’t prove the cooling lines were rusted.
3. No Digital Proof: In court, a printed photo isn’t enough. You need Metadata—digital proof of exactly when and where the photo was taken.

3. The “Betterment” Scam

Landlords often try to use Dilapidations to upgrade their building at your expense. This is called Betterment.

• The Scenario: The carpet is worn out. You damaged it, sure.
• The Demand: The landlord charges you £5,000 for “New Oak Flooring.”
• The Defense: You need a photo from Day 1 showing it was a cheap, nylon carpet. You only owe the value of the cheap carpet. That single photo just saved you £4,500.

4. The Solution: The “Digital Time Capsule”

You need to treat your pub entry like a crime scene. You need evidence that stands up in a court of law.

This is why we built The Digital Time Capsule. It is not just a photo gallery; it is a legal shield.

• Geo-Locking: Every photo is tagged with GPS coordinates to prove it was taken on-site.
• Time-Stamping: The meta-data is locked on the server. You can prove to a judge exactly what the pub looked like at 9:00 AM on your first day.
• Cloud Vault: Even if your pub burns down, your evidence is safe on our encrypted servers.

Don’t wait until you leave. If you are already in your pub, use the software to log “Progressive Maintenance.” Every time you fix a gutter, snap a photo and upload the invoice. This builds a “Maintenance History” that proves you were a good tenant, making it much harder for them to sue you for neglect.

👉 Don’t trust a paper file. Use our Digital Time Capsule to geo-tag and time-stamp photos of your building on Day 1. It’s your only legal defense.