Dilapidations Schedule (Ghana)

A Dilapidations Schedule in Ghana records the particulars required for the matter it documents.

The Rent Act 1963 (Act 220) is the principal statute regulating residential and commercial leases in Ghana. Section 26 of Act 220 imposes on tenants an obligation to deliver up the leased premises in good repair at the end of the tenancy, subject to the standard of the premises at the commencement of the lease as recorded in any schedule of condition attached to the lease agreement. The Rent Control Act 1986 (PNDCL 138) and the associated Rent Control Regulations govern the administration of rents and tenancy disputes through the Rent Control Department of the Ministry of Works and Housing.

A Dilapidations Schedule serves two distinct functions in Ghana: it is prepared by the landlord's surveyor or property manager as a terminal schedule at the end of the lease to quantify the landlord's dilapidations claim against the tenant; and it may also be prepared as an interim schedule during the term of the lease, requiring the tenant to carry out repairs before the lease end to avoid accumulation of liability. Where the parties cannot agree on the extent of dilapidations or the cost of remediation, the dispute may be referred to the Rent Control Department under PNDCL 138 or litigated before the High Court (Land Division) in Accra.

A Dilapidations Schedule must be distinguished from a Schedule of Condition, which is prepared at the commencement of a lease to record the existing state of the premises and limits the tenant's repair obligation to the standard evidenced in that schedule. Under Ghanaian leasing practice — particularly for commercial properties in Airport City, the Central Business District of Accra, and Kumasi — landlords routinely include a schedule of condition as an annex to commercial leases under the Land Act 2020 (Act 1036), and a tenant facing a dilapidations claim will rely on any favourable entries in the commencement schedule to limit liability.

The valuation and quantification of dilapidations costs in Ghana falls within the professional competence of quantity surveyors and property valuers registered with the Ghana Institution of Surveyors (GhIS) and licensed by the Real Estate Agency Act 2020 (Act 1047). Expert evidence from a GhIS-registered surveyor is typically required in High Court dilapidations proceedings.

A Dilapidations Schedule in Ghana is required in the following circumstances under the Rent Act 1963 (Act 220) and the applicable lease or tenancy agreement.

When a commercial lease of office, retail, or industrial premises in Accra, Tema, or Kumasi approaches its end date, the landlord's property manager or surveyor prepares a Dilapidations Schedule to record any disrepair, decorative failure, or breach of the tenant's repairing covenant before the tenant vacates. Section 26 of Act 220 and the express repairing obligations in the lease provide the legal basis for the landlord's dilapidations claim.

When a landlord intends to make a dilapidations claim against a departing tenant under a commercial lease, a Dilapidations Schedule is required to particularise the claim — identifying each item of disrepair, its location, the relevant covenant breached, and the estimated cost of reinstatement. Without a schedule, the landlord cannot establish the quantum of the dilapidations claim in proceedings before the High Court (Land Division).

When a tenant disputes the landlord's dilapidations claim, the tenant's surveyor may prepare a counter-schedule of dilapidations responding to each item in the landlord's schedule — accepting some items, disputing others on fair wear and tear grounds, and proposing lower reinstatement costs. This exchange of schedules is the standard pre-litigation procedure for dilapidations disputes in Ghanaian commercial leasing practice.

When a landlord serves an interim dilapidations notice during the term of a long commercial lease in Ghana — typically a lease of five years or more under the Land Act 2020 (Act 1036) — the notice will reference a schedule of interim dilapidations requiring the tenant to carry out specified repairs within a defined period. Failure to comply entitles the landlord to carry out the repairs and recover the cost from the tenant.

When a residential tenancy governed by the Rent Control Act 1986 (PNDCL 138) ends in Ghana, a Dilapidations Schedule prepared jointly by the landlord and tenant — or by the Rent Control Department inspector — records the condition of the premises and the basis for any deduction from the tenant's rent deposit, providing evidence for the Rent Control Department's adjudication of any deposit dispute.

A valid Dilapidations Schedule in Ghana under the Rent Act 1963 (Act 220) must contain the following essential elements.

Property Identification: Full address and description of the leased premises — including floor number, unit reference, and building name where applicable — in Accra, Kumasi, Takoradi, or elsewhere in Ghana, together with the lease reference number, commencement date, and expiry date of the lease.

Parties: Full legal names of the landlord and the tenant, together with any managing agent or property manager acting on behalf of the landlord, and the name of the surveyor or quantity surveyor preparing the schedule, with their registration details from the Ghana Institution of Surveyors (GhIS).

Room-by-Room or Element-by-Element Listing: A systematic schedule covering each room, floor, wall, ceiling, window, door, fixture, fitting, and service installation in the leased premises. Each entry should describe: the item; its current condition; the specific repairing, decorating, or yielding-up obligation breached; whether the disrepair is attributable to the tenant or constitutes fair wear and tear; and the estimated cost of reinstatement in Ghana Cedis (GHS).

Fair Wear and Tear Qualification: A clear statement of which items are excluded from the dilapidations claim on the ground that they represent fair wear and tear — ordinary deterioration arising from reasonable use of the premises over the lease term — which the tenant is not liable to make good under the Rent Act 1963 (Act 220) or the terms of the lease.

Schedule of Condition Cross-Reference: Where a schedule of condition was attached to the lease at commencement, each entry in the Dilapidations Schedule should cross-reference the relevant entry in the commencement schedule to identify the difference between the current condition and the baseline condition the tenant undertook to maintain.

Cost Estimates: A detailed cost estimate for each item of disrepair, prepared by a quantity surveyor registered with the GhIS, setting out labour and materials costs, VAT at the applicable rate under the Value Added Tax Act 2013 (Act 870), contractor preliminaries, and any professional fees. Costs should reflect current Ghanaian market rates for construction and refurbishment.

Summary of Claim: A total dilapidations claim figure aggregating all items in the schedule, with a breakdown of the landlord's costs and expenses of preparing the schedule. Where the lease contains a cap on dilapidations liability, the cap should be applied and the capped claim amount stated.

Signature and Date: The schedule should be signed and dated by the landlord's surveyor and served on the tenant promptly after vacation of the premises. The tenant's surveyor should acknowledge receipt, record any dispute, and respond within the period specified in the lease.

The forms-legal.com Dilapidations Schedule template covers the eight essential elements required under Act 220 and commercial leasing practice in Ghana. Landlords and tenants dealing with complex commercial dilapidations claims in Ghana should also consider engaging a Residential Lease or Commercial Lease Agreement template to confirm repairing covenants are clearly drafted from the outset of the tenancy.