Dilapidations, or dilaps, are the cost of putting the pub back into the state of repair your agreement says you have to hand it back in. On a tied lease they're usually your bill, at the end of the agreement or when you assign it. If your pubco is one of the six covered by the Pubs Code, it has to survey for dilaps at least six months before your agreement ends, and the starting benchmark is the Schedule of Condition it gave you when you signed. Whatever the schedule says, the law caps the damages at what the pubco's interest in the building actually lost in value. And in the regulator's own 2026 survey, only 12% of tied tenants had taken advice from a surveyor before signing.
That last number is the one I'd want every new tenant to see. Dilaps comes up in the pub groups every single week, usually from someone who's just had a schedule land with a five-figure number at the bottom and no idea whether it's fair. Most of the answers are either "get a solicitor" or a horror story. Both true, neither much use on a Tuesday. So this is the whole thing in order: what dilaps are, what the Pubs Code makes the pubco do and when, the legal ceiling most tenants have never heard of, and the paperwork that decides how the argument ends. Long before it starts.
One thing up front. I'm a licensee, not a lawyer or a surveyor, and this isn't legal advice. It's England and Wales only, and the Pubs Code part only applies if your pubco is one of the six regulated ones. Read it, then get proper advice on your own lease.
What dilapidations are, and what they aren't
Your agreement has a repairing clause. It says who repairs what, and to what standard. Dilapidations are the gap between that standard and the state the building's actually in when you leave. The court protocol for these claims sorts them into repair, reinstatement and redecoration, so it can also include putting back alterations you made, if your agreement or a notice requires it.
What they're not is a wish list. The pubco can't use dilaps to get a better building than the one you took on, if your agreement ties the standard to the Schedule of Condition. Under the Pubs Code, where you're responsible for repair, the pubco has to confirm before you sign that the requirement is to keep the premises in the condition shown in that schedule, unless your agreement says otherwise. Those last four words are why you read the lease.
The timeline that matters
| When | What happens | What you should be doing |
|---|---|---|
| Before you sign | Pubco must give you a Schedule of Condition, point out specific problems, tell you how dilaps will be worked out and when surveys happen, and advise you to inspect and use a surveyor | Use the surveyor. Photograph every room, the cellar, the roof you can see, the yard. Date it all |
| During the agreement | Repairs reviewed in line with your agreement; BDM must give you notes of repair discussions within 14 days | Every repair request in writing. Check the BDM notes and correct them within 7 days |
| After big structural work | Pubco must update the Schedule of Condition, if your agreement doesn't set its own review | Make sure the update happens. Get a copy |
| 12 months before the end | Nothing has to happen yet | Your best moment. Get your own surveyor in and start the conversation |
| At least 6 months before the end | Pubco must carry out its dilaps survey and update the Schedule of Condition, with reasonable notice to you | Be there. Take your own photos on the day. Ask for the findings in writing |
| If you're assigning | Pubco must tell you, as soon as reasonably practicable, about dilaps it wants fixed before or as a condition of the assignment | Get the list early so the price you agree with your buyer reflects it |
| End of the agreement | Landlord sends a schedule of dilapidations, generally within 56 days under the court protocol, then a quantified demand | Don't sign anything on the day you hand the keys over |
| After the demand | Your response is due within a reasonable time, usually within 56 days | Respond item by item on their schedule, with your evidence |
The six-month survey is the one people miss. The regulation is plain: a survey to work out the dilaps has to be carried out in line with your agreement and at least six months before it ends. That's the pubco's duty, not yours. If you're inside six months and nobody's been round, that's worth a written question to your BDM and, if you get nowhere, to the pubco's Code Compliance Officer.
The ceiling most tenants have never heard of
Section 18 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1927 says damages for breaking a repairing covenant can't be more than the amount the landlord's interest in the property has gone down in value because of the disrepair. Not the cost of the works. The drop in value. Usually those two numbers are close, but not always. Where the pub is going to be pulled down, or altered so much that the repairs would be pointless, the same section says no damages are recoverable for the end-of-lease covenant at all.
Savills' licensed leisure team has also made the point that a tenant may be fully or partly off the hook if the pub is being redeveloped, or re-let to someone who's going to refit it completely. If your pubco's already marketing the site with "refurbishment opportunity" in the details, that's not nothing.
The court protocol for dilaps claims expects the landlord to back a claim with either the actual cost of works it's done or a formal valuation of the drop in value, prepared by a valuer. If you're going to argue the ceiling, you have to put your own valuation in too. That's a job for a surveyor who does licensed property. It isn't one for a WhatsApp group.
Why this is live right now
The Pubs Code Adjudicator ran a review of how the regulated pubcos handle repairs and dilapidations after its 2023 tenant survey found 45% of tied tenants dissatisfied with how their pubco dealt with them. The Adjudicator said there was more work for the pubcos to do.
Then in July 2026 she opened a formal investigation into Stonegate. Among the suspected breaches: not giving prospective tenants an accurate Schedule of Condition, and giving defective lists of the initial works to be done to the pub. The PCA has reached no conclusion on any of it. But think about what an inaccurate schedule does at the end of an agreement. If the starting point was written wrong, every pound of dilaps measured against it is measured from the wrong place. I've written up what the Stonegate investigation covers and what can happen next separately.
The file that wins the argument
Dilaps disputes are won on paper, and the paper has to exist years before the dispute does. This is what I'd keep, in one folder, from day one:
| Document | Why it matters at the end |
|---|---|
| The Schedule of Condition you signed against, with your own dated photos | It's the benchmark. Your photos stop anyone arguing about what "fair condition" meant in year one |
| The list of initial works, with the dates they were promised | Works the pubco promised and didn't do can't fairly become your dilaps |
| Every repair request, sent in writing | Shows you reported it. A leak reported in year two and ignored is a different conversation from one nobody mentioned |
| BDM meeting notes, plus your corrections | The Code says you get them within 14 days, and you've got 7 days to say if you disagree. Read them when they land |
| Invoices for repairs and maintenance you paid for | Proof you kept up your side, and proof of what things actually cost |
| Annual photos from the same spots | Ten minutes a year. Cellar, kitchen, toilets, outside walls, roofline |
| The pubco's dilaps survey findings, in writing | What they said six months out, against what's on the final schedule |
None of that is clever. It's the same habit as a stock count, really. A dated record of what was there, made at the time, beats a confident memory every time someone asks you to pay for something. I use the same thinking in my incident log and my price-rise file.
Do the works yourself, or pay?
Savills' advice to pub tenants is to start the dilaps conversation with your landlord as early as you can, up to a year before the lease ends, because doing the agreed works yourself can cost less than paying for the landlord's contractors. The other side of it, from the same advice: if you leave works undone, the landlord can't get a new tenant straight in, and may claim the lost rent for the time it takes to sort.
My view, for what it's worth. If you've got the cash and a builder you trust, agreeing a list early and doing it yourself puts you in charge of the cost. If you haven't, the worst thing you can do is ignore it, because then you get their schedule, their prices and their timescale, and a lost-rent line on top. Either way, get the agreed list in writing before anyone lifts a tool.
Don't let it get tangled with the stock
The end of an agreement is also when the stock gets valued. If you're assigning, there's an outgoing valuation of the stock and fixtures between you and the incoming tenant. If you're simply leaving, there's a final count with the pubco. Either way, money is moving in several directions in the same fortnight.
Keep each line separate. The stock figure should come from a proper count on the day, valued at cost, with the sheets signed. The dilaps figure should come from an agreed schedule. If anyone offers to net one off against the other, ask to see both numbers on paper first. "Round it down and call it quits" is a lovely phrase on handover day and a terrible one to sign. The stock-at-valuation guide covers the stock side, and the closure stocktake checklist covers the cellar shutdown.
What I'd do this week
| Where you are | Do this |
|---|---|
| About to sign a tied agreement | Get a surveyor with tied-pub experience. Read the repair clause and the Schedule of Condition together. Photograph everything before you move a single stool |
| Mid-agreement | Find your Schedule of Condition. If you can't, ask the pubco for a copy in writing. Start the photo folder |
| Within 12 months of the end | Get your own survey done first, so you know the real number before theirs arrives |
| Inside 6 months and no survey yet | Ask your BDM in writing when it's happening. If that goes nowhere, ask the Code Compliance Officer |
| Holding a schedule of dilaps now | Don't pay, don't argue on the phone. Get a surveyor to go through it line by line against your Schedule of Condition, and reply in writing |
If your pubco's also squeezing you on price at the same time, the tied price rises guide covers your Pubs Code rights there, including Market Rent Only, and tied vs free of tie covers what changes on the numbers if you go free.
Common questions
Who pays for dilapidations on a tied pub?
Usually the tenant, at the end of the agreement or when assigning it, measured against the repair standard in the agreement. Under the Pubs Code that standard is the Schedule of Condition you were given, unless your agreement says otherwise. Check your own repairing clause with a professional.
When does the pubco have to do the dilapidations survey?
For the six pubcos covered by the Pubs Code, in line with your agreement and at least six months before it ends, with reasonable notice to you unless it's an emergency. The Schedule of Condition must also be reviewed at least six months before the end if your agreement doesn't set its own review.
Can a dilapidations claim be more than the building lost in value?
No. Section 18 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1927 caps damages for breaking a repairing covenant at the drop in value of the landlord's interest caused by the disrepair. If the pub will be demolished or altered so the repairs would be pointless, no damages are recoverable for the end-of-lease covenant.
How long does the landlord have to send a schedule of dilapidations?
Under the court's Dilapidations Protocol, generally within 56 days after the tenancy ends, followed by a quantified demand. The tenant's response is usually due within 56 days of that demand. A landlord can also send a schedule before the end.
What should I do if I've just received a schedule of dilapidations?
Don't pay it and don't argue it on the phone. Get a surveyor with licensed property experience to check it line by line against your Schedule of Condition and your photos, then reply in writing item by item. This isn't legal advice, so take your own.
Sources
- What dilapidations are, who's usually responsible, the Schedule of Condition, the six-month survey, reasonable notice, assignment, BDM notes within 14 days with 7 days to disagree, disputes to the courts and Code compliance to arbitration, and the pre-signing repairs checklist: Pubs Code Adjudicator factsheet, What Tied Pub Tenants Need to Know: Repairs and Dilapidations (last updated June 2023), checked 7 October 2026.
- Regulation 13 (advice to inspect and use a qualified surveyor with tied-pub experience; Schedule of Condition updated after works, after significant structural alteration and at least 6 months before the end; dilapidations survey at least 6 months before the end; reasonable notice before entry): The Pubs Code etc. Regulations 2016, regulation 13. Regulation 12 (dilapidations to be remedied on assignment, told as soon as reasonably practicable): regulation 12. Schedule 1, paragraphs 14 and 15, (repair standard is the Schedule of Condition unless the agreement says otherwise; dilaps procedures disclosed before signing): Schedules. All checked 7 October 2026.
- Damages capped at the diminution in the value of the reversion; no damages for the end-of-lease covenant where the premises will be pulled down or structurally altered so the repairs would be valueless: Landlord and Tenant Act 1927, section 18, checked 7 October 2026.
- Schedule generally within 56 days after termination, response usually within 56 days of the quantified demand, categories of repair, reinstatement and redecoration, diminution valuation by a valuer: Ministry of Justice, the Dilapidations Protocol, checked 7 October 2026.
- Only 12% of tied tenants sought advice from a qualified surveyor before taking on a tenancy; 95% considered professional advice important: PCA, Tied Tenant Survey 2026 results, published 10 June 2026.
- 45% of tied tenants dissatisfied with how their pubco handles repairs and dilapidations (2023 survey) and the PCA's review: PCA, repairs and dilapidations thematic review.
- Suspected breaches including the Schedule of Condition and initial works lists: PCA, investigation into Stonegate Group, published 15 July 2026.
- Start the conversation up to a year before the end, doing works yourself can cost less, possible exemption on redevelopment or a full refit, lost rent if works are left: Savills, How pub tenants can avoid a large dilapidations bill (first published in The Morning Advertiser).