Want to Knock Down a Wall in my Flat

RoboDog

Hi All,

I have recently purchased a flat in London & am keen to knock down a small section of wall to let natural light flow in to the kitchen. It seems hollow but I don't know whether it is load bearing or not. I am pretty sure that I need some form of permission from someone, but I don't know who or how I should go about getting it. Can someone please help me out? What do I need to do? Are there costs involved with seeking permission & what kind of timelines am I looking at? The wall is about 1.6 meters across. Do I need to find out whether it is load bearing or not before seeking permission? If yes then how do I find that out?

Sorry about all the questions but I want to make sure that I do everything right to avoid any complications.

Thanks in advance & I am looking forward to seeing your replies. I would appreciate it if you could be as specific as possible as I am pretty clueless. For example, I wouldn't even know which "planning permission" would relate to my area so would need to be told how to find that out too.

Cheers

muckybutt

Leasehold or Freehold ?

macman

You don't need Planning Permission for an internal wall. But if it's load bearing you will need Building Regs approval. Two totally different things.
As above, if leasehold , restrictions may apply.
Firstly find out if it is load bearing or not.

RoboDog

Sorry for not mentioning earlier... It's leasehold. Taking that in to account what do I need to do? How do I find out if its load bearing or not? What sort of restrictions? What is building regs approval?

Yorkie1

The first thing to do is to check the terms of your lease to see whether there's anything in there about getting the freeholder's permission before doing any structural work. This is separate from any Building Regs approval.

When you knock on the wall, does it sound hollow or solid?

cattie

First & most importantly, you should seek permission of the freeholder before you do any sort of work such as this. It's unlikely to be refused, but needs to be obtained just to be on the safe side. Without the relevant permission, it could cause problems later on if you wish to sell.

RoboDog

Thanks for your replies guys... For those who missed out on my earlier post, its a "Leasehold."

To summarise, I should first seek permission from the freeholder. How do I do that? How do I find out who the freeholder is? Is there a cost involved & how long does it usually take?

Some mentioned "Building regs approval." Is that different from the freeholder/my above point?

Cheers

googler

How old is the building, and how many floors do you have above you?

RoboDog

Its about 15-20 years old... 4 floors above me

googler

Ask a structural engineer to have a look.

macman

You own this property-how can you not know who the freeholder is? Who do you pay your ground rent to? What does your lease say, if anything, about such works?
Building Regs approval is nothing to do with your leasehold or freehold status, it's an inspection required by your LA to ensure that certain categories of building work are carried out to a standard that is safe, both for you and the neighbouring properties. Any structural work will require such an inspection.