ADSL sixth addition Clause 18.10

[Malcolm1]

Hi, we would be interested in the view of fellow landlords about our situation...
Clause 18 (10) ..." Yard and carparking area maintenance and repair charges but excluding charges for repaving and resealing"
Our tenant has several large potholes in the entrance to the hotel carpark, which they have asked the landlord to repair?
When they purchased the lease in May 2015, we(landlord) repaired several potholes at the time, due to the landlord operating the hotel prior to them buying the lease, "good faith".
Under the obligations of the lease, are potholes "repaving & resealing OR maintenance & repairs???
Appreciate any feedback, cheers.

[John the builder]

does the tenant rent the whole property or is it shared.

if a single tenant then potholes are on them and part of ongoing maintenance

[Malcolm1]

Hi John
The tenant rents the whole property,so my thoughts are the same.
Thanks for the reply.

[John the builder]

you could give them the option to fix themselves or otherwise you will do with a contractor and charge as outgoing

[Malcolm1]

Cheers John

[DaveW]

I agree with John if the driveway is otherwise in good shape then the pot holes are part of maintenance and therefore fall under this OPEX.

There are some situations where the driveway was in a state of disrepair. One pothole is repaired but a while later another appears. This is an indication that the driveway needs to be resealed, and this is deemed an improvement not a maintenance.

Mind you, if you did such an improvement you would likely expect to be able to increase the rent on renewal. Also you can claim depreciation of driveways.

[Malcolm1]

Thanks for your feedback, we explained to the tenants that the potholes would be maintenance and they are happy to fix them, all sorted until next time.