Converting a 1 bed flat to 2 bed

walkslad

Hi folks,
I am the owner occupier of a leasehold purpose built flat and want to convert it from a 1 bed to a 2 bed. The flat is on the 4th floor of a 9 floor block.

To do this is I need to move the kitchen into the living room which is just on the other side of a dividing wall. The old kitchen would then become the new bedroom. There would be no walls knocked down and no structural alterations made to the flat.

I have spoken to the builder and he has advised me there will be no problems with the plumbing and electricity. There is no gas in the block.

I have spoken to the managing agents of the block and they say it is allowed.

So I rang the council and they say I need to fill out a buildings regulation application form and give them detailed drawings of my plans. The cost of this is £172.

My question is does all this sound correct and do I actually need to go down this route or can I just go ahead without planning permission on what really is just a simple room alteration.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Best regards
Neil

Silver-Surfer_2

walkslad wrote: »

Hi folks,
I am the owner occupier of a leasehold purpose built flat and want to convert it from a 1 bed to a 2 bed. The flat is on the 4th floor of a 9 floor block.

To do this is I need to move the kitchen into the living room which is just on the other side of a dividing wall. The old kitchen would then become the new bedroom. There would be no walls knocked down and no structural alterations made to the flat.

I have spoken to the builder and he has advised me there will be no problems with the plumbing and electricity. There is no gas in the block.

I have spoken to the managing agents of the block and they say it is allowed.

So I rang the council and they say I need to fill out a buildings regulation application form and give them detailed drawings of my plans. The cost of this is £172.

My question is does all this sound correct and do I actually need to go down this route or can I just go ahead without planning permission on what really is just a simple room alteration.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Best regards
Neil

You are confusing Building Regulation and Planning Permission.

phill99

As above. Planning permission and building regs are two completely different things. Something tells me you may need planning permission in addition to building regs. You need to check with the planning dept at your local council.


Also, when you spoke to the managing agents, have you got it in writing that you wont need freeholders consent?

walkslad

Hi,
Thank you for your reply.

I may well be confusing the planning permission and building regulations. I thought that by doing the building reg form that would give me the planning permission I needed but obviously not. I will ring the council for clarification.

I never did get a written confirmation off my managing agents but I will call them tomorrow to clarify.

Best regards
Neil

Doozergirl

You need formal approval from the freeholder. They may not be the same entity as the managing agent.

There will almost certainly be a fee for that.

As said, building regs and planning permission are different things. It needs building regs approval, without a shadow of a doubt. You should check with planning to be sure.

brightontraveller

Whole new game in converting 1 bed too 2, You need to check the lease 99% of the time freeholder will/can charge a fee? Don’t be surprised if that's up to 50 % of increase in value ( Certainly is in many parts of London )
With the local authority the biggest stumbles / cost standard works aside if your not making structural changes are normally the meeting fire regs.


Before you do a thing check your lease and get confirmation in writing if needed