DILAPIDATION, a term meaning in general a falling into decay, but more particularly used in the plural in English law for (I) the waste committed by the incumbent of an ecclesiastical living; (2) the disrepair for which a tenant is usually liable when he has agreed to give up his premises in good repair (see EASE MENT; FLAT; LANDLORD AND TENANT; as to limited owners, see WASTE).
In the eye of the law an incumbent of a living is a tenant for life of his benefice, and any waste, voluntary or permissive, on his part must be made good. Under the old law, proceedings might be taken against the dilapidating incumbent in the ecclesi astical court ; or an action in the courts of common law could be brought by the successor upon the custom of England against the previous incumbent or his personal representatives if he were dead. And if such a thing should happen, this law might still have to be applied in the case of bishops or cathedral digni taries or officers. But for parochial incumbents provision was made in 1873 by the Ecclesiastical Dilapidations Act of that year, which Act however has now been superseded by the Ecclesiasti cal Dilapidations Measure 1923 which covers the whole ground.
By this measure, diocesan dilapidation boards are appointed who are to cause first inspections to be made of the buildings of every benefice. These first inspections are to be made within seven years of the passing of the Measure or earlier if the bene fice becomes vacant or is put under sequestration. The surveyor is to report whether any and if so what repairs are needed, and to divide them into ordinary repairs and structural repairs, and to sub-divide the latter into those which do not or do admit of delay; and if there has been any mischief due to deliberate action or gross neglect, he is to state the cost of these separately and call them "wilful dilapidations." For these latter the incumbent is to be liable at once. Opportunity is given to any party inter ested to object to the report of the surveyor on any point, and the board is finally to determine.
If the inspection is on a vacancy, and the late incumbent is not protected by a certificate under the old Act, he or his per sonal representatives must pay to Queen Anne's Bounty the cost of ordinary and immediate structural repairs, as determined by the Board. If the first inspection is not on a vacancy and the incumbent or the sequestrator is not protected by a certificate under the old Act he is similarly liable, but in case of personal poverty or the benefice being less than £ 2 5o a year, there are provisions for his relief.
As to the future, Queen Anne's Bounty is to make an assess ment first for a "repair rate" to cover the execution of repairs required by an order of the dilapidation board, except those al ready provided for and those for which the cost is spread over more than five years; secondly for an "insurance rate" to pro vide for reinstating the buildings in case of fire; and thirdly for an "administration rate" to cover office expenses and surveyor's fees. For repairs, the cost of which is to be spread over a longer period than five years, there is to be a "long assessment" in lieu of an ordinary assessment.
There are numerous provisions directing the application of the moneys raised and the execution of repairs and giving power to Queen Anne's Bounty to advance loans and to make grants in the case of poor livings, and concerning timber growing on the glebe. The broad effect of the Measure is to substitute annual payments in the nature of premiums of insurance in lieu of a capital liability.
In the United States, the term means the neglect of necessary repairs of a building, the suffering of it to fall into a state of decay or the unauthorized pulling down of the building or any part of it. (See LANDLORD AND TENANT.)