freeholder/leaseholder carried out structural alterations without permission

japonicaf

In a property of several flats in a Victorian conversion - where the leaseholders also have a share of the freehold and have set up a Ltd company to mange the property, of which they are directors - how much does it matter if one of the leaseholders/freeholders failed to get plans for structural alterations approved in writing by the management company, as required by the lease? The person carried out the extensive structural alterations including knocking down walls, putting in an extra bathroom, installing a noisy wooden floor and ripping up the carpets required under the lease and so on without even informing fellow directors what he was doing, let alone getting it approved. A decade on this person want to sell the flat in a hurry to cash in on the current boom in prices in the area. WIll the failure to have got permission from the company at the time the alterations were made matter when it comes to selling - would a buyer's solicitors be concerned? Is there anything they need to do to put the situation right now? Is there anything the secretary needs to do to put all in order? It seems that they did not get a building regulations certificate from the Council at the time either. Has there been negiligence on the part of the company and its officers for not insisting that plans were submitted and approved by them at the time, for the sake of a quiet life in the fact of a belligerent co-director?

loubel

The leaseholder needs to ask the freehold company for retrospective permission for the structural alterations.

It sounds like the lease allows leaseholders to carry out structural alterations with freeholder consent and the freeholder has known about the works for some time without taking any action, so the freeholder must be reasonable in their response. They may just agree to it or they may ask for evidence that the works were carried out safely eg building regs sign off.