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Dilapidation is a term meaning a destructive event to a building, but more particularly used in the plural in English law for
Dilapidation is derived from the Latin for scattering the stones (lapides) of a building. [1]
 | This section is largely based on an article in the out-of-copyright Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, which was produced in 1911.(December 2015) |
In general English law a tenant for life has no power to cut down timber, destroy buildings, etc., or to let buildings fall into disrepair (see Waste). In the eye of the law an incumbent of a living is a tenant for life of his benefice, and any waste, voluntary or permissive, on his part must be made good by his administrators to his successor in office. The principles on which such dilapidations are to be ascertained, and the application of the money payable in respect thereof, depend partly on old ecclesiastical law and partly on acts of Parliament. [1]
Questions as to ecclesiastical dilapidations usually arise in respect of the residence house and other buildings belonging to the living. Inclosures, hedges, ditches and the like are included in things of which the beneficed person has the burden and charge of reparation. In a leading case (Ross v. Adcock, 1868, L.R. 3 C.P. 657) it was said that the court was acquainted with no precedent or decision extending the liability of the executors of a deceased incumbent to any species of waste beyond dilapidation of the house, chancel or other buildings or fences of the benefice. And it has been held that the mere mismanagement or miscultivation of the ecclesiastical lands will not give rise to an action for dilapidations. [1]
To place the law relating to dilapidations on a more satisfactory footing, the Ecclesiastical Dilapidations Act 1871 was passed. The buildings to which the act applies are defined to be such houses of residence, chancels, walls, fences and other buildings and things as the incumbent of the benefice is by law and custom bound to maintain in repair. In each diocese a surveyor is appointed by the archdeacons and rural deans subject to the approval of the bishop; and such surveyor shall by the direction of the bishop examine the buildings on the following occasions viz. [1]
The surveyor specifies the works required, and gives an estimate of their probable cost. In the case of a vacant benefice, the new incumbent and the old incumbent or his representatives may lodge objections to the surveyors report on any grounds of fact or law, and the bishop, after consideration, may make an order for the repairs and their cost, for which the late incumbent or his representatives are liable. The sum so stated becomes a debt due from the late incumbent or his representatives to the new incumbent, who shall pay over the money when recovered to the governors of Queen Anne's Bounty. [1]
The governors pay for the works on execution on receipt of a certificate from the surveyor; and the surveyor, when the works have been completed to his satisfaction, gives a certificate to that effect, the effect of which, so far as regards the incumbent, is to protect him from liability for dilapidations for the next five years. Unnecessary buildings belonging to a residence house may, by the authority of the bishop and with the consent of the patron, be removed. An amending statute of 1872 (Ecclesiastical Dilapidations Act (1871) Amendment) relates chiefly to advances by the governors of Queen Anne's Bounty for the purposes of the act. [1]
In the commercial property world, 'dilapidations' refers to breaches of lease covenants relating to the condition of a property, and the process of remedying those breaches. [2]
Tenants enter commercial leases agreeing to keep premises in repair; if they do not, the law of dilapidations applies. Landlords have the ability to serve a schedule of dilapidations on a tenant either during or more commonly at the end of the lease, itemising the breaches of covenant. Remedies for the landlord will be for the tenant to undertake the specified works or for them to seek to recover from the tenant the cost of making good the disrepair. [3] Dilapidations occur primarily at the end of a lease, and often disputes arise between landlords and tenants as to their extent, and in order to reach a conclusion this inevitably leads to an appraisal of past case law which stems over 100 years. In an economic downturn dilapidations are also commonplace either during a lease term or if the tenant exercises a break clause. [4] Most dilapidations are settled by negotiation, but other methods exist in demonstrating loss suffered by a landlord such as a diminution valuation. Landlords and tenants will normally be advised by a specialist surveyor or property consultant.
Formal guidance on dilapidations exists such as the PLA protocol which was currently adopted under the Civil Procedure Rules in 2012. [5] The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors produces a guidance note on dealing with dilapidations claims and this is currently in its sixth edition. [6] The Financial Reporting Council's accounting standard FRS12 requires occupiers to budget for dilapidations in their accounts [7] leading to more tenants seeking advice on dilapidations before the end of their leases. [8]
Glebe is an area of land within an ecclesiastical parish used to support a parish priest. The land may be owned by the church, or its profits may be reserved to the church.
A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user to pay the owner for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial or business equipment are also leased. Basically a lease agreement is a contract between two parties: the lessor and the lessee. The lessor is the legal owner of the asset, while the lessee obtains the right to use the asset in return for regular rental payments. The lessee also agrees to abide by various conditions regarding their use of the property or equipment. For example, a person leasing a car may agree to the condition that the car will only be used for personal use.
A leasehold estate is an ownership of a temporary right to hold land or property in which a lessee or a tenant holds rights of real property by some form of title from a lessor or landlord. Although a tenant does hold rights to real property, a leasehold estate is typically considered personal property.
Real estate appraisal, property valuation or land valuation is the process of developing an opinion of value for real property. Real estate transactions often require appraisals because they occur infrequently and every property is unique, unlike corporate stocks, which are traded daily and are identical. The location also plays a key role in valuation. However, since property cannot change location, it is often the upgrades or improvements to the home that can change its value. Appraisal reports form the basis for mortgage loans, settling estates and divorces, taxation, and so on. Sometimes an appraisal report is used to establish a sale price for a property.
Property management is the operation, control, maintenance, and oversight of real estate and physical property. This can include residential, commercial, and land real estate. Management indicates the need for real estate to be cared for and monitored, with accountability for and attention to its useful life and condition. This is much akin to the role of management in any business.
Hughes v Metropolitan Railway Co [1877] is a House of Lords case considered unremarkable for many years until it was resurrected in 1947 by Lord Denning in the case of Central London Property Trust Ltd v High Trees House Ltd in his development of the doctrine of promissory estoppel. The case was the first known instance of the concept of promissory estoppel.
Waste is a term used in property law to describe a cause of action that can be brought in court to address a change in condition of real property brought about by a current tenant that damages or destroys the value of that property. A lawsuit for waste can be brought against a life tenant or lessee of a leasehold estate, either by a current landlord or by the owner of a vested future interest. The holder of an executory interest, however, has no standing to enforce an action for waste, since his future interest is not vested. There are several different kinds of waste under the law.
A leasehold valuation tribunal (LVT) was a statutory tribunal in England which determined various types of landlord and tenant dispute involving residential property in the private sector. An LVT consisted of a panel of three; one with a background in property law ; one with a background in property valuation generally a qualified surveyor; and a layman, although some decisions of an LVT were decided by a single member. LVTs were non-departmental public bodies.
The right of patronage in Roman Catholic canon law is a set of rights and obligations of someone, known as the patron in connection with a gift of land (benefice). It is a grant made by the church out of gratitude towards a benefactor.
Landlord harassment is the willing creation, by a landlord or their agents, of conditions that are uncomfortable for one or more tenants in order to induce willing abandonment of a rental contract. This is illegal in many jurisdictions, either under general harassment laws or specific protections, as well as under the terms of rental contracts or tenancy agreements.
Chartered Surveyor is the description of Professional Members and Fellows of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) entitled to use the designation in the (British) Commonwealth of Nations and Ireland. Chartered originates from the Royal Charter granted to the world's first professional body of surveyors. Chartered Surveyors are entitled to use "MRICS" or "FRICS" after their names as appropriate.
The Occupiers' Liability Act 1957 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that covers occupiers' liability. The result of the Third Report of the Law Reform Committee, the Act was introduced to Parliament as the Occupiers' Liability Bill and granted the Royal Assent on 6 June 1957, coming into force on 1 January 1958. The Act unified several classes of visitors to property and the duty of care owed to them by the occupier, as well as codifying elements of the common law relating to this duty of care. It also covered the duty owed to parties to a contract entering the property and ways of excluding the liability for visitors. The Act introduced an element of liability for landlords who failed to maintain their properties and were as a result responsible for the injury of a non-tenant, something counter to the previous common law rule in English law. The Act is still valid law, and forms much of the law relating to occupiers' liability in English law along with the Occupiers' Liability Act 1984.
Bruton v London and Quadrant Housing Trust[1999] UKHL 26 is an English land law case that examined the rights of a 'tenant' in a situation where the 'landlord', a charitable housing association had no authority to grant a tenancy, but in which the 'tenant' sought to enforce the duty to repair on the association implied under landlord and tenant statutes. The effect of the case is to create the relationship of de facto landlord and tenant between the parties.
"Glebe terrier" is a term specific to the Church of England. It is a document, usually a written survey or inventory, which gives details of glebe, lands and property in the parish owned by the Church of England and held by a clergyman as part of the endowment of his benefice, and which provided the means by which the incumbent could support himself and his church.
Landlord–tenant law is the field of law that deals with the rights and duties of landlords and tenants.
The Defective Premises Act 1972 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that covers landlords' and builders' liability for poorly constructed and poorly maintained buildings, along with any injuries that may result. During the 19th century, the common law principle that a landlord could not be liable for letting a poorly maintained house was established, while a long-running principle was that, in practice, builders could not be sued for constructing defective buildings. The courts began to turn against the first principle during the 20th century, imposing several restrictions on the landlord's immunity, but the landlord was still largely free from being sued.
In construction, structural repairs are a technical term, contrasted to renovations or non-structural repairs. They are changes to a property to bring it up to local health and safety standards. Unlike renovations, they add relatively little value to a property. caretakers exterior and interior in Mumbai has experience in structural repairs work
The history of rent control in England and Wales is a part of English land law concerning the development of rent regulation in England and Wales. Controlling the prices that landlords could make their tenants pay formed the main element of rent regulation, and was in place from 1915 until its abolition by the Housing Act 1988.
James v United Kingdom [1986] is an English land law case, concerning tenants' (lessees') statutory right to enfranchise a home from their freeholder and whether specifically that right, leasehold enfranchisement, infringes the freeholder's human rights in property without being in a valid public interest.
Warren v Keen is an English Landlord–tenant law case concerning the obligations of both parties. It is still good law and is well known for Lord Denning's ruling on a tenant's duty to use the let property in a tenant-like manner.
