New FRI lease, rusty roof

[jmsgld]

Looking to take on a commercial FRI lease on a 15y term, just had the condition report back and the roof is starting to rust. I imagine it very likely need replacing in the next 15 years.

It would be nice to have the roof removed from the schedule, but I can't imagine that the landlord will agree to that.

It's a steel frame, profile steel clad, built late 80's.... We would only be renting one half of the building. Our part is 2 storey, 100m2 each floor. Our portion of roof will be approx 125m2 when take into account pitch and overhang. I guesstimate £30k.

Any advice? Any ideas how long the current roof might last? Any cheaper options - some sort of spray coating / cost?

Thanks

[jmsgld]

[DickP]

Depending how far gone the edge lap corrosion is, you may be able to apply an edge corrosion treatment system. Various suppliers around such as HD Sharman, Giromax etc. Some also do coating systems for the full roof but again depends on condition of what’s there already.

If you had a Schedule of Condition prepared for you by a Building Surveyor I suggest also speaking to them about the findings in the schedule and see what they suggest for longevity.

[Aluminati]

DickP said:

Depending how far gone the edge lap corrosion is, you may be able to apply an edge corrosion treatment system. Various suppliers around such as HD Sharman, Giromax etc. Some also do coating systems for the full roof but again depends on condition of what’s there already.

If you had a Schedule of Condition prepared for you by a Building Surveyor I suggest also speaking to them about the findings in the schedule and see what they suggest for longevity.

Perfect advice. Especially the Giromax.

[jmsgld]

Many thanks for your reply. I will look into those. I only received the report this afternoon and have a meeting with solicitors tomorrow. I have asked the question of the surveyor but may not hear back in time for the meeting. I expect his response to be rather guarded.

The profile ridges are approx 300mm apart, so the visible corrosion extends to about 100mm, perhaps150mm in places. I have no idea how much of an overlap there will be. The corrosion only extends to roughly 1/3 of the way to the closest visible fixing screws. The position of those fixing screws appears to suggest a purlin rather than a stitch, as you can see he ghosts of the other purlins further up the roof....

[surveyor]

This is where schedules of condition are a bit weak. You can document the condition of the roof now, but it’s going to deteriorate further and you would never be able to bring it back to this moment in time. It’s a fight to either have no responsibility or all the responsibility at the time.

My view (and it’s simple not knowing the background) is you either need the landlord to bring it into repair now before you take liability, remove liability or rent free equivalent to the cost for you to bring into repair.

The downside is how hard it is to find space at the moment…

[N111BJG]

That cladding / roofing is beyond its life expectancy. Not so long ago the problem would not be so easy to detect, roofs would be excluded from inspections as it would involve hiring a cherry picker & if very high the operator too. It added a lot to survey costs.

The landlord ought to share these costs with you as the new roof will last beyond your lease, in the past they could have played hard ball in the hope that if you pull out the next potential tenant was oblivious, that seldom happens now.

A lot depends on local demand, the rent being asked & if the building is empty. You could always engage a commercial agent to assist you, a firm a distance away from that area would be best.