Birmingham mixed-use office, CAT-A floor
Pre-lease Schedule of Condition for an incoming tenant taking a refurbished CAT-A office floor in central Birmingham, ahead of a tenant fit-out programme.
- Property type
- Refurbished CAT-A office floor
- Location
- Birmingham city centre
- Instruction
- Pre-lease Schedule of Condition
- Client
- Incoming tenant, financial services
- Lease term
- 10-year FRI with break
- Deliverable
- Lease-ready schedule prior to fit-out
Overview
A financial services tenant was taking a full CAT-A floor in a refurbished Birmingham city-centre office building, on a 10-year FRI lease with a tenant-only break at year five. CAT-A condition needed to be documented before the tenant's CAT-B fit-out commenced.
The brief
CAT-A finishes, raised floors, suspended ceilings, lighting, primary M&E to floor, were to be handed back at lease end. The tenant needed a documented record of the condition at handover so that fair wear during occupation, and any damage caused by the fit-out, could be properly distinguished from pre-existing items.
What CBC did
An experienced specialist surveyor inspected the floor immediately prior to fit-out commencement. The schedule recorded the CAT-A finishes element-by-element, with a particular focus on raised access flooring, suspended ceiling grids and tiles, primary lighting, blinds, glazing and the demised M&E to the floor. Cross-referenced photography supported every observation.
- 01Raised access floor, tile-by-tile photographic record over key zones
- 02Suspended ceiling grid and tiles
- 03Primary lighting, sensors and controls
- 04Demised M&E to the floor (visual record)
- 05Glazing, blinds, demised entrance and circulation
Why it mattered
CAT-A reinstatement claims at lease end are a well-known cause of dilapidations dispute. With a documented baseline at handover, the tenant can demonstrate which elements were genuinely altered by the fit-out (and so legitimately fall to be reinstated) and which were pre-existing wear (and so do not).
Why timing is everything for CAT-A schedules
The schedule must be prepared in the narrow window between landlord handover and the start of fit-out works. Once fit-out begins, the CAT-A condition is no longer recoverable as a baseline, and the evidential value of the schedule is lost.
, CBC Surveyors
Schedule of Condition for office tenants taking CAT-A space
CBC acts for office tenants taking CAT-A floors across UK city centres. Same-working-day fixed quotes; lease-ready reports.
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Specialist guides
- How much does a dilapidations claim cost?What drives the figure, and the practical levers that reduce tenant exposure.
- When do you need a dilapidations surveyor?Interim, terminal and pre-action: the moments specialist input matters.
- How long does a dilapidations claim take?Pre-Action Protocol timeline from Quantified Demand to settlement.
- What does a Schedule of Dilapidations include?Breaches, scope, costs and the Pre-Action Protocol structure.
Talk to a specialist dilapidations surveyor
Send a brief and a specialist will respond the same working day with a clear view on your position and the next practical step.