A property claim arrives after the site has closed: what to gather
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Send a property claim to the appropriate adviser promptly, even if the site has closed and the old team has dispersed. Keep the original correspondence and attachments. Ask the adviser to identify the response requirements and next steps before anyone sends a substantive reply.
Check the document titles and references before indexing the claim. RICS guidance for England and Wales distinguishes a schedule of dilapidations from a quantified demand. The former identifies alleged outstanding items; the latter sets out the claimed loss in more detail. Their amounts can differ. The adviser should explain what has been received and what it means in the actual case.
Start with the original material
Preserve the received email or letter, attachments and relevant delivery information. Make an index for the adviser, but keep the originals alongside it. Do not replace a detailed allegation with a one-line paraphrase that loses its wording or reference.
Ask which existing records the adviser needs. A practical starting pack can include:
- The lease, later agreements and relevant notices.
- Available schedules of condition and dated property photographs.
- Alteration documents, specifications and correspondence.
- Survey reports and the agreed scope of any exit work.
- Work records, invoices and completion correspondence.
- The property exit agreement and factual handover record.
Use the original surveyor's brief to locate the people and reports already involved. Tell the adviser what cannot yet be found.
Reconstruct events without deciding the claim
Create a chronology with one event per line. Give the date, factual description, supporting document and person who can explain it. Separate recollection from contemporaneous evidence.
In a fictional example, a photograph shows a partition at handover. A later message says the incoming tenant wanted it retained. Those facts need their dates, authors and surrounding correspondence. The owner should not combine them into the conclusion that every related obligation was waived.
The key-return record can show what was transferred and observed. It does not necessarily settle the condition or legal issues now raised. Let the adviser connect the evidence to the actual documents.
Where several former employees hold relevant information, ask for factual accounts and authorised copies of records through an agreed route. Avoid circulating the entire claim to everyone who once worked at the site. The adviser can identify who needs to contribute and how sensitive material should be handled.
Keep an authorised decision-maker available
Name the person who can instruct the adviser and receive their questions. Give the accountant relevant updates through the agreed process so the closure forecast reflects the current advice. If a rent deposit enquiry is also open, make the connection visible without assuming how the two matters will be resolved.
Do not wait for an asset sale to finish before obtaining property advice. If remaining equipment also needs a sale enquiry, UK Auction Group can receive the current facts about those assets. Property claims and their legal response remain with the appropriate advisers.
See Leaving business premises for the wider property file and exit decisions.
Sources
This guide is general information and education only. Legal, tax, employment and safety decisions may need a qualified adviser who knows your situation. Read the disclaimer.