The Property Litigation has been involved in the drafting of two Protocols, both of which can be downloaded from this page.

The Post-Action Protocol - Business Tenancy Renewals

and

The Pre-Action Protocol for claims for damages in relation to the physical state of commercial property at the termination of a tenancy - "The Dilapidations Protocol" 

Since its introduction in Spring 2002 the Dilapidations Protocol has substantially reduced the number of dilapidations disputes going to court.  If has been accepted by the property litigation industry, in particular the by the Property Litigation Association ('PLA') and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors ('RICS'), as best practice for those operating in this area.

In conjunction with the RICS review of its Guidance Note on Dilapidations the PLA has carried out a review of the Protocol, in particular the requirements for the surveyor to give an endorsement that the amounts being claimed by the landlord are 'a fair assessment of the landlord's loss'.  There has been unease by some surveyors as to the nature of this endorsement, in particular with regard to the reference to 'loss'.

The revisions to the Protocol remove this wording from the endorsement.  Instead, whilst the Protocol still streses that the landlord can only claim its 'loss', the endorsement is more specific to the works.  In essence, the Protocol now provides that the surveyor preparing the schedule should confirm that the works in the schedule are reasonably required, any costs quoted are reasonable and that full account had been taken of the landlord's intentions for the property at, or shortly after, the termination of the tenancy.

The aim of this endorsement, which has been agreed by the RICS, is to prevent exaggerated claims being made by landlords and so aid sensible negotiations and early settlement of claims.

History of the Protocol
In July 2000, the PLA published a draft Pre-Action Protocol for Terminal Dilapidations Claims for Damages. It was sent to every member of the Association and to leading members of the Property Bar Association.

The document was the result of work by the PLA Sub-Committee on Law Reform over the previous year or so. Members were invited to consider it, provide feedback on it and, if appropriate, use it.

On 14th November 2000, a seminar was held in London at which a panel of surveyors, solicitors and judges were invited to express their views on it in answer to a range of questions. The PLA received many comments and a large amount of feedback on the Protocol from members, other solicitors, judges and, of course, surveyors.

All the comments and feedback were carefully analysed and, where appropriate, the Protocol was altered.

Given that members of the PLA represent landlords and tenants, we tried very hard to ensure that the Protocol is fair to both.

The Dilapidations Protocol - Version 1 - Spring 2002
The first version of the Protocol was launched in spring 2002 and was widely used by those in the industry. It was endorsed by the RICS as Best Practice and annexed to its Guidance Note on Dilapidations.

Since 2002 the Protocol has been used extensively in the industry and the PLA has continued to seek and receive feedback, in particular through a questionnaire of its members at its annual conference.

The Dilapidations Protocol - Version 2 - September 2006
Following feedack from the DCA on the Protocol (see below) and after further consultation with the RICS Working Party on Dilapidations, a second version of the Protocol was issued on 14 September 2006. Once again the RICS will endorse this in its revised Guidance Note on Dilapidations which is expected to be published in Spring 2007. This Protocol is not a draft and members and practitioners are encouraged to use it.