Commercial Property Maintenance: Landlord vs Tenant Obligations Explained

The Lease Determines Everything

Unlike residential tenancies — where legislation provides significant tenant protections regardless of what the lease says — commercial property is largely governed by the terms of the lease itself. There is very little statutory protection for commercial tenants when it comes to maintenance and repair.

This means that before signing a commercial lease, you must understand exactly what maintenance obligations you are taking on. The repairing covenants in a commercial lease can require you to:

• Keep the entire building — including structure, roof, and services — in full repair and good condition
• Return the property at the end of the lease in a condition better than when you took it on
• Pay for repairs arising from inherent defects that existed before you moved in
• Replace, rather than simply repair, elements that have reached the end of their useful life

These obligations can be genuinely onerous — particularly if the property is old or already in poor condition. Taking on a full repairing and insuring (FRI) lease without understanding what you are agreeing to is one of the most expensive mistakes a commercial tenant can make.

Types of Commercial Lease: FRI, IRI and Internal Repair Only

Full Repairing and Insuring (FRI) Lease

The most common type of commercial lease in the UK is the full repairing and insuring (FRI) lease. Under an FRI lease, the tenant is responsible for:

• All internal repairs and decorations
• All external repairs, including roof, walls, windows and doors
• All structural repairs
• Building insurance (or contributing to the landlord's policy via a service charge)

In practical terms, an FRI tenant is responsible for maintaining the property in the same way an owner would be — at their own cost. The landlord effectively passes all maintenance risk to the tenant.

FRI leases are standard for single-let properties and are common for larger units in multi-let buildings. They are generally more favourable to landlords and create significant obligations for tenants.

Internal Repairing and Insuring (IRI) Lease

Under an internal repairing and insuring (IRI) lease, the tenant is responsible only for internal repairs and decorations. The landlord retains responsibility for the external fabric of the building — the roof, external walls, structure and building insurance.

IRI leases are common in multi-let buildings where multiple tenants share external elements and it makes practical sense for the landlord to maintain the common structure. The landlord's costs are typically recovered via a service charge.

Internal Repair Only Lease

Some leases — particularly short lets and smaller units — require only internal repairs, with the landlord covering both external repairs and insurance. These leases carry the lightest repairing obligation for tenants but often command a higher rent to compensate the landlord for bearing more risk.

What "Repair" Actually Means in Law

The word "repair" has a specific legal meaning in the context of commercial leases — and it may be wider than you expect.

In the leading case of Lurcott v Wakely and Wheeler [1911], the court held that the obligation to repair means to "restore by renewal or replacement of subsidiary parts." This means that if an element of the building deteriorates so significantly that renewal is required, a repairing covenant can require the tenant to renew it entirely — not just patch it.

However, the courts have also held that a repairing obligation does not require a tenant to give back a better property than they received. This is where the schedule of condition becomes critical — it records the standard of the property at the lease start, preventing a tenant from being required to improve beyond that baseline.

Inherent Defects

An inherent defect is a defect that arises from the original design or construction of the building — not from the tenant's use. Whether a tenant is responsible for repairing inherent defects depends on the wording of the repairing covenant. In many FRI leases, the obligation to keep the property in good repair is broad enough to include inherent defects — meaning the tenant could end up paying to fix design flaws that existed before they arrived.

This is another reason why a pre-lease commercial building survey is so important. It identifies inherent defects before you sign, giving you the opportunity to exclude them from your repairing obligation or adjust the rent to reflect the risk.

Typical Landlord Maintenance Obligations

Even in FRI leases, landlords typically retain some maintenance obligations. These vary by lease but commonly include:

Structure and Exterior (in IRI and Internal Repair Leases)

Where the lease places external repair obligations on the landlord, these typically cover: the roof, external walls, foundations and structural elements; external windows and doors; gutters, downpipes and drainage; car parks and external landscaping.

Common Parts (Multi-Let Buildings)

In multi-let buildings, the landlord is almost always responsible for maintaining common parts — shared entrances, lifts, stairwells, corridors, car parks and common mechanical and electrical systems. The cost is typically recovered via a service charge.

Statutory Obligations

Regardless of the lease, landlords have certain statutory maintenance obligations they cannot contractually transfer to tenants:

• Asbestos management — under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, duty holders (including landlords of commercial premises) must manage asbestos in non-domestic premises. Read more: Asbestos in Commercial Buildings Guide
• Fire safety — the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 imposes fire safety obligations on the responsible person (which may be the landlord or the tenant depending on the situation). Read more: Fire Risk Assessments Guide
• Legionella control — landlords with water systems in commercial buildings have a duty to manage legionella risk
• Gas safety — landlords who supply gas to commercial tenants must ensure appliances are maintained and tested

Typical Tenant Maintenance Obligations

Under a standard FRI commercial lease, the tenant's maintenance obligations are extensive. They typically include:

Internal Decoration

Most leases require the tenant to redecorate the interior of the property every 3–5 years and again in the final year of the lease. The specification for decoration is usually stated in the lease — typically "in a good and workmanlike manner with quality materials to the reasonable satisfaction of the landlord's surveyor."

Internal Repairs

All internal elements — walls, ceilings, floors, partitions, fixtures, fittings, internal doors and windows — are typically the tenant's responsibility under an FRI lease.

M&E Services

Maintaining mechanical and electrical services within the demise — heating, air conditioning, electrical systems, plumbing and drainage serving the property — is usually the tenant's responsibility. Regular servicing contracts are strongly recommended to comply with repairing obligations and to keep the systems operational.

External Repairs (FRI Only)

Under an FRI lease, external repairs are also the tenant's responsibility. This includes the roof, external walls, windows, doors, gutters and downpipes — the full envelope of the building.

Alterations Reinstatement

Most leases require the tenant to reinstate any alterations made during the lease at the end of the term — removing partitions, reinstating floors and returning the property to its original layout. This obligation is often overlooked and can be expensive.

Service Charges — How Multi-Let Buildings Work

In multi-let buildings — offices, retail parks, industrial estates — a service charge is the mechanism by which landlords recover the cost of maintaining common parts and shared services from tenants.

Service charges typically cover:

• Maintenance and repair of the building structure, roof and external fabric
• Cleaning and maintenance of common areas
• Lifts, escalators and mechanical plant
• Building insurance premiums
• Management fees
• Landscaping, car parking and external areas
• Security and reception services

Service charges can be significant — sometimes representing 20–40% of the headline rent. Before taking a lease in a multi-let building, always request:

• The last 3 years' service charge accounts
• The current year's budget
• Any known major expenditure planned for the near future

The RICS publishes a Service Charge Code that sets out best practice for commercial service charges. If a landlord is not complying with the Code, you may have grounds to challenge excessive or unreasonable charges.

Most Common Maintenance Disputes in Commercial Property

1. Disagreement Over What Counts as "Repair" vs "Improvement"

A landlord may argue that a deteriorated element requires full replacement (a repair) while the tenant argues it only needs patching (a cosmetic improvement not covered by the repairing covenant). These disputes often end up in expert determination or litigation.

2. Inherent Defects

Where a building has a design flaw — for example, a roof that was never properly weatherproofed — who bears the cost of fixing it? The answer depends on the lease wording and whether the defect was documented at the lease start.

3. Dilapidations at Lease End

The most common and expensive disputes arise when the tenant vacates. The landlord serves a schedule of dilapidations; the tenant disputes the extent or cost of the claimed works. A schedule of condition prepared at the lease start is the single most effective way to reduce dilapidations liability.

4. Service Charge Disputes

Tenants frequently dispute whether service charge items are reasonable, whether they fall within the lease definition of recoverable costs, or whether the management fees are excessive. The RICS Service Charge Code provides important protections, but it is not legally binding unless incorporated into the lease.

5. Interim Dilapidations

Where a tenant has allowed the property to fall into significant disrepair during the lease, the landlord may serve an interim schedule requiring the tenant to carry out repairs immediately. Tenants are sometimes surprised to receive a claim mid-lease, believing they only needed to worry about condition at the end.

How to Protect Yourself Before Signing

Whether you are a tenant or a landlord, the following steps will significantly reduce your risk of expensive maintenance disputes:

For Tenants

1. Commission a commercial building survey before signing — identify all existing defects and understand the condition you're taking on
2. Commission a schedule of condition — have it incorporated into the lease to limit your repairing obligation to the property's condition at the start
3. Read the repairing covenant carefully — with your solicitor and surveyor, understand exactly what you are and are not responsible for
4. Request historical service charge accounts for multi-let buildings — understand what you'll be paying
5. Negotiate exclusions — if the survey identifies inherent defects or items requiring major repair, negotiate to exclude them from your repairing obligation or secure a rent reduction

For Landlords

1. Commission a condition survey before letting — understand the property's current state before negotiating the lease
2. Maintain a planned preventative maintenance programme — proactive maintenance reduces deterioration, protects asset value and reduces dilapidations disputes
3. Inspect the property regularly — periodic inspections during the lease allow early identification of tenant breaches
4. Issue interim dilapidations schedules where needed — don't wait until lease end to address significant disrepair

Planned Preventative Maintenance for Landlords

For commercial property landlords, a planned preventative maintenance (PPM) programme is one of the most cost-effective tools available. Rather than waiting for elements to fail and then spending large sums on emergency repairs, a PPM programme schedules maintenance proactively, extending the life of building components and reducing total lifecycle costs.

A PPM survey carried out by a commercial building surveyor produces a schedule of maintenance tasks — typically over a 5 or 10 year horizon — with indicative costs and prioritisation. This allows landlords to budget accurately for maintenance expenditure and to demonstrate to tenants that the building is being properly managed.

For leased properties, maintaining the landlord's elements of the building in good order also reduces the risk of tenants arguing that disrepair originated from landlord negligence rather than their own repairing obligation.

Read our full guide: Planned Preventative Maintenance for Commercial Buildings.

Frequently Asked Questions