This important new guide to dilapidations is written by a surveyor for surveyors and will also appeal to anyone else who needs to understand this often-complex subject. The TFT Purple Book shines a light into dilapidations’ darker recesses, identifying the legal context, best practice, the background to how and why dilapidations is dealt with as it is, and addresses areas of legal uncertainty. This comprehensive guide also highlights important topics which are often overlooked. It aims to serve as a single point of reference from which the reader can develop a solid foundation of knowledge. It even considers cattle, children and ‘chattels-vegetable’ – and not many text books can make that boast.
It includes chapters on: the classification of items; repair; reinstatement; the measures of loss; diminution valuations; supersession; engineering services; dispute resolution; interim dilapidations; break options; avoiding and minimising disputes; dilapidations in Northern Ireland; and dilapidations in Scotland. Opinion pieces are also included relating to: diminution valuations; the dilapidations protocol; and the roles of the building surveyor. The book accompanies the TFT Dilapidations Flowcharts and the TFT Two Step Approach to Supersession.
This is an excellent guide to the law and practice relating to dilapidations in the UK and will be invaluable to the practitioner whether surveyor or solicitor. Of particular assistance is the helpful way the author approaches the thorny issues of how items should be classified (chattel or fixture?) and supersession. This ‘go to’ guide should save clients both time and money.
John de Waal QC – Barrister and Mediator, Hardwicke
As a book which is intended to draw together the many and complex strands of dilapidations practice, The TFT Purple Book is an accomplished piece of work. I’m recommending it as vital reading to junior members of our team, but it’s also illuminating for those of us with several years’ experience on the legal side who still have more to learn about building surveying and valuation practice within this field.
Tim Reid – Senior Associate, Hogan Lovells International LLP
The book offers a comprehensive and one-stop reference in respect of all things dilapidations. As well as being to the point and easy to understand, it also deals with the different approach adopted in Scotland given the absence of the Landlord and Tenant Acts. This textbook will certainly have a place in our office.
Philip Knight – Managing Associate, Womble Bond Dickinson (UK) LLP
All too often in practice it is relatively straightforward to establish the answer to any particular problem or to express an opinion. What can be far more difficult is to be sure of how to achieve that outcome. TFT’s excellent Purple Book seeks to provide the sort of practical contribution and easy understanding that is usually only gained by years of experience. This new book offers an intensely pragmatic and easily readable text about dilapidations in the UK, which will be a valuable guide of immense assistance to surveyors and other practitioners in this field. Jon Rowling and his team at TFT should be applauded for their efforts, particularly their ability to identify and to answer so many questions that are often asked, but rarely answered.
David Nicholls - Barrister , Landmark Chambers
