Croydon is the largest office market in South London, and its unusual mix of dated tower stock and brand-new Grade A space shapes every lease-end project we run in CR0. The town has long been a back-office and public-sector centre — government departments, insurers and professional-services firms taking large floors near East Croydon — and it is now working through a wave of change as 1960s and 70s towers are refurbished, repurposed or converted to residential and occupiers move into new space at Ruskin Square and around the Interchange. That churn generates a steady flow of lease exits and reinstatements. London Dilaps Ltd is a dilapidations specialist, not a general contractor fitting lease-end work around refurbishment jobs, and we cover the South East beyond central London — Croydon sits comfortably within our reach at around fifteen minutes by train from London Bridge and Victoria. We work directly with tenants, landlords and surveyors to price, programme and complete the full scope under one fixed-price contract, with one person accountable from first site visit to final sign-off.
Croydon’s commercial core clusters around East and West Croydon stations and the town-centre spine. The landmark stock includes the town’s tall 1960s and 70s towers — No.1 Croydon among the best known — much of it now being refurbished, re-let at value rents or converted to other uses. Against that sits Ruskin Square, the major new development beside East Croydon station, which has brought modern, large-floorplate Grade A office space and public-sector and corporate occupiers back into the town. Around these are a deep supply of mid-sized suites, serviced and flexible offices, and the startup and technology scene that gave rise to the “Croydon Tech City” label. Ownership ranges from institutional landlords on the new stock to more varied ownership across the older towers, so lease-end schedules in Croydon vary widely — from rigorous, well-advised base-build reinstatement on Grade A floors to make-good and strip-out on dated space being readied for refurbishment or conversion.
The obligation you face at handover depends heavily on the age and future of the building. New Grade A floors at Ruskin Square or a comparable refurbished tower typically require full Cat A reinstatement — suspended ceilings, lighting, raised access floors, power and data distribution and finishes returned to base-build — plus removal of every tenant alteration and M&E re-commissioning. On older tower stock the picture is different: where a landlord is refurbishing or converting the building, the schedule may be lighter, or Section 18 supersession arguments may cap the claim because the works you would do are about to be superseded by the landlord’s own scheme. That distinction matters, and it is exactly where an experienced contractor’s read of the situation saves money. We review the lease, any licences for alterations and the building’s likely future before we price, and we challenge schedule items that fall outside your contractual liability rather than costing the schedule as served. Carrying out the works directly normally lands at a lower net figure than a cash settlement — and closes your liability on handover.
Croydon’s office stock is concentrated in a busy town centre, and access reflects that. The older towers are multi-tenant buildings with goods-lift bookings, loading bays and out-of-hours windows set by the managing agent, and the town-centre one-way system, tram network and pedestrianised areas around the Whitgift and Centrale centres dictate when a strip-out lorry can realistically load. Ruskin Square and the East Croydon estate are centrally managed, with dock slots and permits set by the estate team. We plan every CR0 project around these realities — booking egress into permitted windows, arranging licensed waste collection and recycling, handling managing-agent inductions and permits-to-work, and coordinating with building management and neighbouring occupiers so the works stay clean and contained. Being a South East contractor rather than a purely central-London one, we mobilise into Croydon and the surrounding CR postcodes without the travel loading that a City-based firm would add — with natural coverage across Croydon, Purley, Sutton, Bromley and the wider South London commercial fringe.
Every project starts with a proper survey of the space against the served schedule and the lease behind it — not a desktop estimate. In Croydon that survey also weighs the building’s likely future, because whether the landlord intends to refurbish, re-let or convert changes what you should reasonably be asked to do. From the survey we produce an itemised, fixed-price proposal and a programme built around your handover date. We manage the parts that slow most tenants down — managing-agent liaison, permits-to-work, multi-tenant coordination and surveyor sign-off — directly, so you keep control of specification, quality and programme. At completion we run a pre-handover inspection, snag anything a surveyor would flag, compile full photographic documentation, and deliver a compliance pack that closes the account cleanly. One point of contact runs the job from first call to final sign-off.
Croydon projects need a contractor who understands both ends of its market — the rigorous base-build reinstatement a new Grade A floor demands, and the Section 18 and make-good judgement calls that dated, soon-to-be-refurbished tower stock involves. Getting that judgement wrong costs tenants real money, in both directions. Dilapidations, strip-out and Cat A reinstatement are the whole of what we do, not a sideline, and as a South East contractor we cover Croydon without the travel premium a central-London firm would add. We bring £5 million public and employers’ liability cover, experienced site teams and a documented handover on every contract. Our direct-to-contractor pricing typically comes in well below the landlord’s contractor on like-
Our specialist office dilapidations service covers the full lease-end repair and compliance programme for Croydon tenants — reviewing your lease, agreeing scope with your surveyor, and delivering repairs, redecoration, reversal of tenant alterations and schedule-of-condition compliance under a single fixed-price contract, from first assessment to final handover.
We deliver complete office reinstatement for offices in the area, returning floors to base-build in line with landlord specification — suspended ceilings, lighting, raised access flooring, power and data, decorations and all make-good works, to the standard local landlords and their surveyors expect on a reinstated floor.
Our office strip-out services in London cover full removal of tenant fit-out — partitions, ceilings, raised floors, kitchens, joinery, data cabling and M&E — planned around local building access windows and multi-tenant goods lifts, and finished ready for landlord inspection or full Cat A reinstatement.
Yes. We work across Croydon town centre, the East and West Croydon office cores, Ruskin Square and the older tower stock, and out into the surrounding CR postcodes. Coverage extends naturally into Purley, Sutton, Bromley and the wider South London commercial fringe.
No. We’re a South East contractor, not a purely central-London one, and Croydon is around fifteen minutes by train from London Bridge and Victoria. We mobilise into CR0 without the travel loading a City-based firm would add to the price, which is one reason our fixed-price figures stay competitive on Croydon projects.
As a broad guide, end-of-lease strip-out and Cat A reinstatement runs from about £15 to £28 per square foot, with full Cat A on new Grade A space at the upper end and make-good on older stock typically lower. Where the building is being refurbished or converted, the figure can be lower still. We provide a free site visit and a fixed-price quotation for every project.
Possibly not. Where a landlord is about to refurbish, redevelop or convert the building, Section 18 supersession can cap or extinguish part of the claim, because works you carry out would simply be superseded by the landlord’s own scheme. This is common on Croydon’s older tower stock. We factor the building’s likely future into our assessment and flag where supersession should reduce what you’re asked to pay.
It depends on the building. On new Grade A floors, doing the works directly is usually cheaper and cleaner and closes your liability on handover. On older stock facing refurbishment or conversion, a negotiated settlement — supported by a Section 18 argument — can be the better route. Our free site visit gives you a fixed-price works figure to weigh against any settlement offer.
Yes. We reinstate suspended ceilings, lighting, raised access floors, power and data distribution and finishes to landlord base-build, re-commission the M&E, and provide the test certificates and O&M documentation the surveyor will ask for at handover — using approved materials so nothing is rejected on inspection.
Yes. Most of our work is for commercial tenants delivering end-of-lease works, but we also reinstate floors for Croydon landlords readying space for re-letting, and we partner with building surveyors who need a reliable delivery contractor. We don’t act for landlord and tenant on the same dispute, but we’re happy to be introduced by either side.
As much as possible — the cleanest outcomes come from tenants who engage us 6 to 12 months out. The minimum practical notice is around eight weeks, by which point we can still mobilise a fixed-price contract. If you’re inside eight weeks, call us first and we’ll tell you what’s realistic.
Have a Croydon town-centre or Ruskin Square reinstatement to price? Get a free, fixed-price dilapidations quote before you hand back your office — we’ll review your obligations, including any Section 18 supersession argument, and tell you exactly where you stand.