1. The claim doesn’t disappear
Let’s be clear from the start: ignoring a dilapidations claim doesn’t make it go away. Your landlord has a legitimate contractual claim against you. The lease gave them rights, and if you’ve breached your obligations, they’re entitled to pursue compensation.
The claim exists whether you engage with it or not. The question isn’t whether to deal with it — it’s whether to deal with it on your terms or theirs.
2. You breach the Dilapidations Protocol
The Dilapidations Protocol (formally the Pre-Action Protocol for Claims for Damages in Relation to the Physical State of Commercial Property at Termination of a Tenancy) sets out expected conduct for both parties in a dilapidations dispute.
Under the Protocol, tenants are expected to:
- Acknowledge receipt of the schedule
- Respond substantively within 56 days (or an agreed extended period)
- Engage in without-prejudice negotiations
Ignoring the claim means you’re not complying with the Protocol. If matters proceed to court, the court considers Protocol compliance when making decisions about costs. Non-compliance can result in adverse cost orders against you.
3. You lose negotiating leverage
The dilapidations process is fundamentally a negotiation. Landlords’ initial claims are typically higher than eventual settlements. The gap is closed through professional engagement: challenging invalid items, disputing inflated costs, raising defences like supersession and Section 18.
If you don’t engage, none of this happens:
- Invalid items go unchallenged
- Inflated costs stand unrebutted
- Your defences aren’t presented
- The landlord’s position hardens
By the time you do engage (or are forced to), the landscape has shifted against you. Early engagement is when you have maximum leverage.
4. The landlord proceeds without you
If you don’t respond, the landlord isn’t stuck. They can:
Continue to press the claim — Follow-up letters, escalation, increased pressure.
Involve solicitors — Once solicitors are instructed, costs escalate and positions become more formal.
Proceed toward litigation — A landlord with an unrebutted claim may feel confident proceeding to court.
Claim against any guarantors — If your lease has a guarantor, the landlord can pursue them directly.
Pursue you through debt collection — The claim is a debt. Standard debt recovery processes apply.
Throughout this, you’re not at the table. Decisions are being made without your input.
5. Court proceedings become more likely
Landlords generally prefer negotiated settlements — litigation is expensive and uncertain. But if you won’t engage at all, what choice do they have?
If the landlord issues court proceedings:
You must respond — Ignoring court papers has serious consequences, including default judgment.
Costs escalate dramatically — Legal fees, court fees, expert witness fees. A claim that might have settled for £50,000 can have £30,000+ of costs added.
You lose control — A judge decides the outcome, not negotiation.
Court judgments are enforceable — Including through enforcement action, charging orders, and potentially winding-up petitions for companies.
Your credit and reputation suffer — Judgments are public record.
The irony is that most claims that go to court would have settled for less through negotiation. The extra cost of litigation benefits no one (except perhaps the lawyers).
6. Time works against you
Dilapidations claims don’t improve with age:
Memories fade — What you could easily explain now becomes harder to evidence later.
Documents get lost — Records, photographs, correspondence — all become harder to find.
Witnesses move on — Staff who knew the property leave.
Your defences weaken — Supersession arguments require knowing the landlord’s intentions; information becomes stale.
Interest accrues — Contractual or statutory interest may run on the debt.
Meanwhile, the limitation period for the landlord’s claim is 6 years. They have time; you’re just making your eventual position worse.
7. The professional fees multiply
A well-handled dilapidations response involves professional fees — surveyor, possibly solicitor. These fees are an investment that typically returns multiples in claim reduction.
When you ignore the claim and are eventually forced to engage:
You still need those professionals — But now they’re working under time pressure.
The landlord’s costs are higher — Which they may seek to recover from you.
Court proceedings add legal costs — On both sides.
Expert witnesses may be needed — Another layer of expense.
A claim that might have cost £5,000 in professional fees to negotiate can cost £20,000+ if it goes to court — on top of a worse settlement because you didn’t engage early.
8. What you should do instead
Acknowledge receipt — Even a brief response buys goodwill and shows you’re engaging.
Get professional advice — A dilapidations surveyor can quickly assess the claim and advise on strategy.
Respond within the timeframe — Or request an extension if you need more time. Reasonable extensions are usually granted.
Engage constructively — Challenge what should be challenged, accept what’s valid, and work toward settlement.
Negotiate — Most claims settle. The process works when both sides participate.
The claim won’t go away. But with proper engagement, you’ll likely pay significantly less than the initial demand, preserve your reputation, and avoid the stress and cost of litigation.
Key Takeaways
- Ignoring the claim doesn’t make it disappear — it makes everything worse
- You breach the Dilapidations Protocol — with cost consequences if it goes to court
- You lose negotiating leverage — defences aren’t raised, invalid items go unchallenged
- The landlord proceeds without you — escalation, solicitors, litigation
- Costs multiply — professional fees and potential court costs compound
- Engage early — it’s always better than hoping the problem goes away
Need Help?
If you’ve received a dilapidations claim — even if you’ve been ignoring it for a while — it’s not too late to engage properly. We can assess your position and help you respond constructively. The sooner you start, the better your outcome.
Related Services:
- Dilapidations for Tenants — Professional claim defence and negotiation
- Dilapidations Assessments — If your lease hasn’t ended yet
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