Retail unit, prime high street, Manchester
Schedule of Condition limiting repairing liability for an incoming retailer taking a 5-year letting on a prime Manchester high-street unit.
- Property type
- Mid-terrace retail unit
- Location
- Manchester city centre, prime high street
- Instruction
- Pre-lease Schedule of Condition
- Client
- Incoming tenant, independent retailer
- Lease term
- 5-year FRI
- Deliverable
- Lease-ready schedule with shopfront record
Overview
An independent retailer was taking a 5-year FRI lease on a mid-terrace prime high-street unit in Manchester. The unit had been previously fitted out for a national chain and the existing fit-out, shopfront and services were of mixed condition. We were instructed to fix the documented condition before lease execution.
The brief
The previous tenant had stripped out only partially before vacating; the incoming tenant intended a full refit but did not want to inherit liability for pre-existing defects to the shell, services or shopfront. The landlord's draft lease was on standard FRI terms with a generic repairing covenant, and an open dilapidations risk at lease end.
The tenant's solicitor required a Schedule of Condition appended to the lease and referenced in the repairing covenant.
What CBC did
An experienced specialist surveyor inspected the entire demise, sales floor, ancillary back-of-house, basement storage, services, shopfront and rear access. The resulting Schedule of Condition was issued floor-by-floor with separate sections for shopfront, internal finishes, services and externals.
- 01Sales floor, ancillary and basement storage
- 02Shopfront, including signage zone, glazing and entrance
- 03Mechanical and electrical installations as observed
- 04Rear service yard and goods-in
- 05Pre-existing structural and decorative defects clearly recorded
Why it mattered
On a 5-year retail FRI lease the dilapidations exposure can routinely match or exceed annual rent. A properly prepared schedule limits the tenant's repairing obligation to the documented baseline, and converts a generic open-ended liability into a known and capped one.
Where retail dilapidations claims tend to escalate
Shopfronts, signage zones and prominent floor finishes are the three retail elements most commonly the subject of dilapidations dispute. Each is photographically recorded in detail at lease grant, a small effort that consistently pays back at lease end.
, CBC Surveyors
Schedule of Condition for retail tenants
CBC acts for retail tenants on prime, secondary and shopping centre lettings nationwide. Same-working-day fixed quotes; specialist surveyor sign-off.
Related pages
Next steps
Related case studies
- Logistics warehouse, M62 corridor120,000 sq ft logistics letting, 10-year FRI lease.
- Central London office, EC2Floor-by-floor schedule supporting a City lease renewal.
- Birmingham mixed-use officeCAT-A office floor, pre-lease schedule for incoming tenant.
- Liverpool waterfront office suiteWaterfront office reletting, agent-instructed baseline.
Specialist guides
- What is a Schedule of Condition?The evidential record that protects commercial tenants and landlords.
- How much does a Schedule of Condition cost?Fixed-fee pricing, what affects cost, and what's included.
- When do you need a Schedule of Condition?Lease grant, renewal and assignment, the right moment to instruct.
- What does a Schedule of Condition include?Site inspection, photographic record, written schedule, lease-ready format.
Talk to a Schedule of Condition specialist
Send a brief and we will respond the same working day with a fixed quote and indicative timescales.