New Kitchen/Bathroom In A Leasehold Flat...

sugarcoma101

Hi all,

In selling my current flat, my buyers solicitor has asked for the Landlords (freeholders) consent for the kitchen and bathroom I installed when I bought it...I had no idea this was something I was supposed to seek.

So, in short, I don't have it. It was very straightforward, putting in new units and appliances but not moving any plumbing around, but I do not have landlords consent.

What are my options here? My solicitor is unhelpfully on holidays now for a week so all advice appreciated-is this a massive problem or can it be rectified fairly easily?

Thanks all!

Angie_B

Check you lease - what does it say regarding doing work?

It may say you only require consent if you are doing electrical/plumbing work rather than a replacement of like-for-like, in which case you should be fine.

If it turns out you should have got consent, you may be able to get indemnity insurance to protect the future owners in the (very unlikely) event the freeholder makes them change it.

sugarcoma101

Thanks Angie-I'll have a look closely at the lease. Good to know that indemnity insurance is an option-phew!

AlexMac

This is probably another example of hyper-cautious standard questions being asked by increasingly risk averse solicitors; I've installed new kitchens in every one of the last few leashold flats I've owned (some professionally fitted, some DIY), never even thought to seek freeholder agreement and never had the question come up when we sold. I obviously got Gas safe regsistation on the new boiler fitted in the latest one last year, although I think this is a recent-ish requirement as it didn't arise in earlier years even though I used (as they were then called) CORGI fitters.

So I'd just say 'no' to any Q's about building work (which I interpret as more than a few new kitchen units) and that the latter didn't need freeholder assent. What's the buyer going to do? Not buy it because you have a nice new kitchen?

And in practice, even if there was a grey area about freeholder assent for some minor works, what would they do that you could need insurance indemnity to protect the buyer from. They can't make 'em rip it out other than under threat of pointless and expensive legal action by the freeholder to 'determine' (terminate) the lease and check the leaseholder out.

Which ain't gonna happen...

Solicitors; doncha luvvem?