Schedule of condition template and guide

Last checked 4 October 2026

A free schedule of condition template in Word and PDF, set out room by room with a photo reference for every entry. No email needed. Below it: when you need one, what to record, how to take the photos, who signs, and how AI can turn your site notes into the write-up.

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The schedule of condition template: the heading block and one room recorded element by element, with photo references

What is a schedule of condition?

A schedule of condition is a dated record of a property's condition, usually written room by room and backed by photographs. It's made before something changes, such as a new lease or building work next door, so that later damage or disrepair can be judged against an agreed starting point.

When do you need a schedule of condition?

The three common times are at the start of a lease, before party wall work, and before building work next to someone else's property. In each case it records the condition before anything changes, so if there's a dispute later about damage or repairs, both sides can see what was there to begin with.

When	What it does	What the guidance says
A new lease	Limits the tenant's repairs to the condition at the start, where the lease says so	RICS's leasing code says a schedule will normally be needed, and the parties should agree who pays for it
Party wall work	Records the neighbour's property before work starts, so any damage can be traced to the works	Not required by the Act, but GOV.UK's guidance calls recording one "most prudent"
Other work next to a building	Gives both sides a record before work starts	Outside the Act, the neighbour keeps their common-law rights, but has to be able to prove damage or loss

Do you have to have a schedule of condition?

Not under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, though GOV.UK's guidance calls recording one "most prudent" and says party wall surveyors would advise it. Without one, damage may be hard to pin on the works. For a lease, RICS's leasing code says one will normally be needed where the tenant's repairs are limited to the starting condition.

What should a schedule of condition include?

Start with the property, the date, who inspected it and why. Then go room by room, describing the ceiling, walls, floor, windows, doors, fittings and services, and note each defect precisely, with its size and position. Give every entry a photo reference, and finish with a photo log and the signatures.

Property details: the address, the date, who inspected and why.
Scope and limits: what you could and couldn't inspect.
Room by room: ceiling, walls, floor, windows, doors, fittings and services.
Each defect: what it is, where it is and how big.
External areas: only those the lease or the work could affect.
A photo log: every photo, referenced and dated.
Agreement: signatures from both sides.

The schedule of condition template

This is the same template as the Word and PDF files. It has a heading block, the scope of the inspection, a table for each room with a photo reference column, a photo log and an agreement section.

Schedule of condition

Both sides check and agree this record before the lease is granted or the work starts.

Property address
Prepared for
Prepared by
Date of inspection
Purpose (lease, party wall or neighbouring works)
Weather on the day
Reference
Photographs taken by

Scope and limits of the inspection

Say which parts you inspected and which you couldn't, such as rooms you couldn't enter or furniture you couldn't move, and how you inspected them.

How to read this schedule

Each room is recorded from the ceiling down: ceiling, walls, floor, then windows, doors, joinery and fittings, and services. Left and right are taken facing {the front of the building}. Every entry has a photo reference that matches the photo log.

Room 1: {name and location}

Ref	Element	Condition	Photo ref
1.1	Ceiling
1.2	Walls
1.3	Floor
1.4	Windows
1.5	Doors
1.6	Joinery and fittings
1.7	Services

The Word file repeats this table for 6 rooms, then adds external areas for anything outside that could be affected.

Photo log

One line for every photo. Keep the originals, with their dates, alongside this schedule.

Photo ref	Room or area	What it shows	Date and time

The Word file has room for 24 photos.

Agreement

Sign once both sides have checked the schedule and the photos and agree they're an accurate record.

	Name	Signature	Date
Prepared by
Agreed for the landlord or adjoining owner
Agreed for the tenant or building owner

Free to use and change. Both sides check it before it's agreed.

Word (.docx)PDF

Schedule of condition example

Here's one room written up, to show the level of detail to aim for. Each entry says what the element is, what's wrong with it, where and how big, and which photos show it. Write down what you see on the day rather than guessing at causes.

Room 3: First-floor office, front

Example only. Write what you see.

Ceiling: Suspended ceiling, 600 × 600mm tiles on a white exposed grid. One tile above the door has a brown water stain about 150mm across. Others clean and level.; Photo P3.01Photo P3.02
Walls: Painted plasterboard. Hairline crack about 400mm long running up from the right-hand corner of the window. Scuffing to the left wall at desk height.; Photo P3.03Photo P3.04
Floor: Grey carpet tiles. Two tiles lifting at the edges by the door. Light wear along the main walkway.; Photo P3.05
Windows: Two aluminium double-glazed windows. Left-hand window opens and closes. Right-hand window handle is stiff. No broken panes.; Photo P3.06
Services: Six double sockets, all with faceplates intact. One radiator under each window, no visible leaks.; Photo P3.07

How should you photograph a schedule of condition?

Take enough photos to cover every part of the property, keep them dated, and give each one a reference that matches an entry in the schedule. RICS's leasing code says tenants who do it themselves should take plenty of photos, have them dated and agreed by the landlord, and keep a set with the lease.

Start each room with a wide shot from the doorway.
Then photograph the ceiling, each wall and the floor in turn.
Take a close-up of every defect, with something in shot to show its size.
Give each photo a reference and note it against the entry it supports.
Keep the originals, with their dates, alongside the lease or the party wall award.

Who signs a schedule of condition?

The person who prepared it signs and dates it, and the other side checks it and agrees it as accurate. RICS's leasing code recommends preparing it early enough before the lease is granted for both parties to check and agree it. For party wall work, the record is often part of the award the surveyors make.

Can AI write a schedule of condition?

AI can turn your photos and voice notes into the written entries, in a consistent order and wording, and match each entry to its photo reference, so you're editing a draft instead of typing up from scratch. It can't see what the camera missed, so the surveyor checks every entry against the photos and the property before it's issued.

Give it

Your voice notes, room by room
The photos, named in order
Your standard wording
The property details and the purpose

Always check

Every entry matches the photo and what you saw
The size and position of each defect
Nothing is described as better or worse than it is
Photo references line up with the log

Photos of a client's property can be confidential. RICS's standard on responsible use of AI says regulated firms must not upload private or confidential data to an AI system unless the people affected have given written consent in advance and the firm is satisfied the risk is acceptable. Agree what can go in before you start: the AI policy template covers it in two pages, and the RICS AI standard guide sets out the rest.

Sources

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