In New Zealand, landlords and tenants frequently enter a lease with scant regard for the condition of the property at lease commencement and no strategy to maintain the property in accordance with the repairing covenants during the period of occupation.  It is only when the landlord/tenant relationship ends that attention is usually turned to the condition of the premises, and a time consuming and costly lease reinstatement dispute commences. 

Terminal Schedules

A Terminal Schedule of Reinstatement (or sometimes known as Terminal Schedule of Dilapidations) records a state of disrepair in a property where there is a legal liability for the condition of disrepair.  It ‘schedules’ the work required to be done to a property in order that it is put into the physical state the property should have been in, if the tenant had complied with its obligations contained with the lease.  A terminal schedule is normally served within 6 months of lease expiry, providing the tenant sufficient time to time comply with its lease obligations.  If a tenant does not carry out required remedial works, then the form of remedy is normally financial damages.

Interim Schedules

Interim Schedules are normally carried out by a building surveyor on behalf of a landlord and will detail disrepair arising from the tenant’s failure to comply with its lease obligations during the term of the lease and which the landlord requires to be remedied during the term of the lease.  

Anticipated Schedules

Anticipated Schedules are normally carried out on behalf of a tenant where a landlord has not required an Interim Schedule.  This form of schedule alerts a tenant to the extent of reinstatement work that it is likely to be required prior to lease expiry.  This schedule can also be costed so that the tenant can consider their position and allow reasoned consideration as to how the ‘reinstatement’ matter will be resolved.