Define the Greenwich premises without generalising from Hyde Vale
The evidence used here concerns West Greenwich streets and building groups, not every property across the borough. Royal Greenwich's Hyde Vale survey describes a rising, turning street with terraces and detached villas on different plots. These residential examples do not establish commercial occupation. For a business lease-end instruction, locate the actual premises and compare the executed plan with the building, levels and retained external areas. Identify whether the demise includes a complete property, a floor or a defined unit, together with the relevant shared components. The district name cannot determine the tenant's responsibility or the extent of the inspection.
Assemble the lease, supplemental agreements, alteration licences and any incorporated condition schedule before putting obligations against observed conditions. For a disputed roof, internal alteration or boundary, identify the covenant, location and evidence separately. Where the current arrangement differs from the plan, state the uncertainty instead of assuming that all accessible space forms part of the tenancy. Record inspection limitations and any testing needed to establish concealed construction or installation performance. A sound schedule distinguishes what was observed from what remains to be investigated and from the legal interpretation required to connect an alleged defect to this tenant's obligations.
Local evidence: Royal Greenwich: West Greenwich photo survey B, Hyde Vale, page 70; Royal Greenwich: West Greenwich appraisal, local building groups, page 125.
Specify Greenwich masonry and finishes from the actual component
The Hyde Vale photo survey distinguishes stock-brick terraces, sometimes with rendered ground floors, from detached villas using darker brick. This supports checking materials rather than equating a similar colour with identical construction or repair treatment. If the commercial demise contains retained masonry or later coatings, inspect the affected surface and identify the proposed intervention. The survey does not establish damp, movement or inappropriate previous work at the leased premises. Any claim for removal, replacement or decoration needs its own condition evidence and contractual basis, with specialist examination identified where a visual inspection cannot resolve the underlying issue.
The agreed instruction may concern an interim schedule, a terminal assessment or a later review of completed repairs. Use the RICS dilapidations professional standard to organise the reporting, maintaining consistent item references, dated photographs and a clear statement of purpose. Separate repair, decoration and reinstatement so that a proposed surface treatment is not confused with removing a tenant's licensed alteration. Explain quantities, access and materials in the cost evidence. A contractor's preference for renewing an entire elevation should be assessed against the alleged breach and appropriate remedy rather than accepted as the automatic measure of the landlord's recoverable loss.
Local evidence: Royal Greenwich: West Greenwich photo survey B, Hyde Vale, page 70; RICS: Dilapidations in England and Wales.
Assess the actual Greenwich landlord scheme and repairing loss
The West Greenwich appraisal identifies Morden College Estate terraces on Maidenstone Hill and cottages at Straightsmouth as locally important groups. These group descriptions do not establish one lease, one ownership arrangement or a shared future scheme. If a dilapidations dispute involves several units, keep the premises and alleged obligations distinct and obtain the landlord's plans for each relevant part. Establish which proposals are committed, their timing and the components affected. A change to another property in the group cannot demonstrate that a scheduled repair in the instructed unit will be superseded, nor does historic character prove current market demand.
Section 18(1) needs consideration where damages for breach of a repairing covenant are claimed, including diminution and the specified demolition or structural-alteration circumstances. Seek the appropriate legal and valuation analysis for the actual reversion and obligation. Other categories of claim require separate treatment. A supersession response should identify the landlord work that would make a particular repair unnecessary and the evidence supporting that conclusion. The Quantified Demand should substantiate likely loss rather than equate it with the sum of quoted works. Unresolved intentions should remain a stated evidential issue, not be converted into a presumed redevelopment or an automatic full recovery.
Local evidence: Royal Greenwich: West Greenwich appraisal, local building groups, page 125; Landlord and Tenant Act 1927, section 18.
Explain Hyde Vale levels and boundary protection in the cost evidence
Hyde Vale's changes of level and plot arrangement require measurement if they are relevant to the proposed access method. The council also records surviving front walls with stone balusters in parts of the street. Inspect the actual route and boundary, establish control and identify protection or temporary removal needed for the particular repair. A description of a neighbouring plot does not establish available working space or permission to alter its frontage. Record retained components and explain the operation behind any handling or reinstatement allowance. The practical access question must remain distinguishable from whether the tenancy makes that cost part of the tenant's liability.
For a commercial termination claim within the Dilapidations Protocol, exchange the schedule, Quantified Demand and reasoned response with the basis of alleged breaches, remedies and likely loss. Preserve dated photographs and changes to the premises, particularly where works occur between inspection and negotiation. Identify which access assumptions have been checked and which await agreement or technical advice. Distinguish responsibility, condition, methodology and loss disputes so the parties can target missing evidence. That supports proportionate discussion or other dispute resolution without treating an entire Greenwich building group or a broad external-works estimate as a single self-proving claim.
Local evidence: Royal Greenwich: West Greenwich photo survey B, Hyde Vale, page 70; Civil Procedure Rules: Dilapidations Protocol.
Greenwich lease-end questions
Do the Greenwich examples describe the whole borough's commercial stock?
No. They concern documented West Greenwich residential streets and groups. They illustrate questions about fabric, levels and boundaries rather than current business occupation. The actual commercial premises require their own lease plan, condition evidence and inspection scope before responsibility or repair conclusions can be reached.
Can a similar brick colour justify the same repair specification?
No. Hyde Vale's survey distinguishes stock brick, render and darker villa brick. Inspect the actual material and finish at the leased premises, with further advice where needed. The appropriate remedy must address the alleged breach rather than borrow a neighbouring building's appearance or a contractor's preferred upgrade.
Does work elsewhere in a Greenwich terrace group prove supersession?
No. Obtain the landlord's actual scheme for the relevant premises and identify the remedies it would displace. A group name does not establish common obligations or future treatment. Repairing-covenant damages may also require section 18 legal and valuation analysis, separate from other claim categories.
Why identify stone balusters or level changes in access evidence?
Where present on the actual route, they may affect protection, handling or temporary works. Measure and inspect rather than assuming every Hyde Vale plot is equivalent. Confirm rights and permissions, then explain the specific cost and its contractual basis instead of applying a general locality allowance.
Related guidance: London dilapidations advice; lease condition records; licence to alter.
Greenwich Schedule of Dilapidations Enquiry (From £1,250 plus VAT)
Content updated: October 2026.
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