Removing (Load Bearing) Walls in Leasehold Flat

peno

Hi MSE Members,

I couldn't find any existing threads on removing (load bearing) walls in a leasehold flat - only erecting walls, so I was hoping someone could help (preferably someone who has succeeded in doing so).

Our lease states the Demised Premises to include "...all walls and partitions lying within the Demised Premises (but excluding any load bearing walls)..."

It continues in our covenants, "Not at any time without the licence in writing of the Lessor first obtained... to make any alteration or addition whatsoever in or to the Demised Premises either eternally or internally... nor to cut or remove the main walls or timbers of the Demised Premises..."

We live in the basement of a four storey terraced house where the freeholder is the Local Authority. The ownership in the area is a mixture of freeholders and leaseholders and our (freeholder) neighbours next door have recently done similar work that required a Party Wall Agreement (presumably on a beam - their whole basement was already open plan). Other basements in the area are also open plan and we are trying to achieve something similar.

Our lease clearly states that load bearing walls are not part of the Demised Premises. If we determine that at least one of the walls in our flat is load bearing, is that the end of our open plan dream?

Should we discover that in fact none of the walls are load bearing, am I right to think that we can seek to obtain permission from the Local Authority to remove walls?

I'm keen to hear from people who have successfully achieved something similar and how they approached the council.

Thanks in advance!

Best Regards,
Peter

NB: I'm making the assumption that the wall in question is load-bearing - I'm not 100% certain it is.

Hoploz

You would need permission from the freeholder. That's first stop.

If they agree, you'll need a structural engineer to work out whether the wall is load bearing. Then plans and working drawings drawn up, building control permission, possibly planning permission.

Once everyone official gives permission, you'd need to sort out the party walls business.

G_M

I suspect you are confusing various things. You need:

* consent from your freeholder (or managing agent) as per the lease. That's because the freeholder owns the building.
* possibly permission from the local authority Planning Department (Planning Permission).
* approval/certification from the local authority Building Control department under Building Regulations (to ensure the work is safe and meets other standards).

££sc££

I think I'd do it the other way round. First step, builder/surveyor/engineer to determine if load bearing. If they are I suspect that would be the end of the dream. If not, I'd submit plans to freeholder for consent. I would bother applyig for consent until you know as they are not going to be able to give an answer. Good luck

phill99

Read your own post again. What the lease is saying is that even if it is non-load bearing, you still need freeholders consent to remove them.

Mokka

It seems to me, logically, that if the load bearing wall is not part of the demised premises, this is the part of a building you do not own. I imagine if you mess with the part of the building you do not actually own you would get into more trouble than if you were to alter parts of the building that you do. However the freeholder will not necessarily refuse consent if you follow the rules.
Contact your housing/leaseholder management to see about the consent- do they charge? I'm pretty sure you will need consent from the Building control- they will definitely charge. I am sure your freeholder neighbours had to apply for this, so you can ask them how difficult it was to obtain.
Not sure about Planning dept- another charge- but better to check. You will need it for sure if you are in a Conservation area.
You should be able to find a lot of info on your LAs website. Also Leaseholder Advisory Service is a minefield of information on all sorts of leasehold problems.