'Consent for alteration' on a share of freehold

jscott08

I bought my flat a couple of years ago. It's in a small block, and i have share of freehold. I did a lot of work on it; new windows, took out a stud wall and put in a new one to make it a one bed (was a studio), new floors, bathroom, kitchen, plumbing etc. The flat is on the ground floor, and nothing has been done to the external walls (chasing etc) other than replace the windows.

I didn't ask anyone for consent to do this work, as i assumed it was within my right as i own share of freehold. I'm looking it up now but i can't find a clear answer, as i know i would have definitely had to ask for consent if it was leasehold. I need to sell the flat so would need to have everything in order beforehand, was i supposed to ask the management company for consent? And if so and i have been ignorant here... can it be done retrospectively?

davidmcn

It's still leasehold, the only difference is that you're a shareholder in the freehold company. So you still need consent (if the lease requires consent for the type of works you've done). Yes, I expect it can be done retrospectively.

eddddy

You still have a lease (so you are a leaseholder)...
... but you also jointly own the freehold (or perhaps you own a share in the company that owns the freehold).


You have made alterations to your flat as a leaseholder. So you need to read your lease to see if you are allowed to make alterations to your flat, and if you are allowed, whether you need consent from your freeholder first.

If you need consent from your freeholder - that means you need consent from yourself and your neighbours (i.e the joint freeholders).

You'll need the consent in writing.

Do you expect your neighbours (joint freeholders) to be difficult about this?

Fire_Fox

Your flat is still leasehold, the share of freehold is a separate but linked title. Freehold flats are unmortgageable in England and Wales.

Agree read your long lease: often written consent is required for any structural changes, not just the external walls and windows so will probably include converting from a studio to a one bedroom. The managing agents also need to know for buildings insurance purposes.

Put together a package for the managing agents including copies of all the documentation you have and a covering letter seeking retrospective consent. They should want to be satisfied as to compliance with Building Regulations/ Building Control sign-off, certificates and warranties for overhauled or upgraded lighting circuit/ kitchen and bathroom ventilation/ new windows/ new internal fire door .... You may find it helpful to structure your letter using the same categories as Building Regs (see the Planning Portal).

How stringent Fire Regs are depends on the size of the block not which floor you are on. A high-rise building is only five stories or fifteen metres tall IIRC, so my ex-office block - just fifteen flats - is listed as high-rise. That likely won't be an issue if you are in a converted family house!

HTH.

jscott08

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Your flat is still leasehold, the share of freehold is a separate but linked title. Freehold flats are unmortgageable in England and Wales.

Agree read your long lease: often written consent is required for any structural changes, not just the external walls and windows so will probably include converting from a studio to a one bedroom. The managing agents also need to know for buildings insurance purposes.

Put together a package for the managing agents including copies of all the documentation you have and a covering letter seeking retrospective consent. They should want to be satisfied as to compliance with Building Regulations/ Building Control sign-off, certificates and warranties for overhauled or upgraded lighting circuit/ kitchen and bathroom ventilation/ new windows/ new internal fire door .... You may find it helpful to structure your letter using the same categories as Building Regs (see the Planning Portal).

How stringent Fire Regs are depends on the size of the block not which floor you are on. A high-rise building is only five stories or fifteen metres tall IIRC, so my ex-office block - just fifteen flats - is listed as high-rise. That likely won't be an issue if you are in a converted family house!

HTH.

Thanks for the help here. It's taken a while but i've finally dug out the crudely scanned lease and had a read through. I found the following two clauses:

-Not to injure cut or maim any of the walls floors or partitions of said flat

-Not to make any structural alteration or structural addition to the said flat or the internal arrangements thereof or remove any of the landlords fixtures without the previous consent in writing of the lessor such consent not to be unreasonably withheld

It seems both of these are relevant here. Regarding paperwork, what exactly will I need? And how would I obtain building control sign off? The windows and door I can get the certificates from the window company, and the unvented cylinder installation i have the paperwork for. I didn't get any new plug or lighting rings put in, just changed the fixtures. I had a new consumer unit fitted along with hob ring, but wasn't given any paperwork for it (was unaware i needed it). - what would i need here?

The block is 3 stories so I don't think qualifies for a high rise (total of around 40 flats). I'm not sure how willing my neighbours would be with signing, as most are renters so i dont see the owners.


Sorry for all the questions and my ignorance, i'v only just found out I need to do this and i'm panicking a bit thinking about the possibility of having to tear down 10s of thousands of pounds worth of work and restore the flat to how it was. When I bought the flat the sinks were leaking, there was no hot water tank, the fuse box was 40 years old and the electrics had been botched in a lot of places. The stud walls also looked like they had been removed and replaced poorly, with random pieces of wood used and glass blocks up top, so I assumed all the work i was doing was fine as most of it was needed just to make the flat safe and liveable.

Also thank you to everyone else who has replied in here!

eddddy

jscott08 wrote: »

I found the following two clauses:

-Not to injure cut or maim any of the walls floors or partitions of said flat

-Not to make any structural alteration or structural addition to the said flat or the internal arrangements thereof or remove any of the landlords fixtures without the previous consent in writing of the lessor such consent not to be unreasonably withheld

It's hard to tell how the lease is structured from your quote, but...

• The second clause is probably OK - you need to get consent for that stuff.

• But the first clause sounds a bit more worrying - from your quote it doesn't sound like it's just a case of getting consent, it sounds like it's not allowed.

If the lease says something is not allowed, in theory, the freeholders can flatly refuse to give consent and/or charge you a premium (a chunk of money) for changing/overriding the lease to allow it.

But unless the changes have affected the structural integrity, fire resistance, noise insulation etc of the building, hopefully the freeholders won't make an issue of it.

SmashedAvacado

f the lease says something is not allowed, in theory, the freeholders can flatly refuse to give consent and/or charge you a premium (a chunk of money) for changing/overriding the lease to allow it.

This isn't the whole truth. The reality is that even if a lease prohibits the making of alterations, then if the alterations are improvements to the property and they do not damage the landlord's interest in the reversion, then consent should be given - this has been entrenched in law for some time but regularly gets ignored on this board.

ethank

You would need consent from the Freeholders (so all of the Freeholders) for the changes. A buyer will either expect the consent to be provided by the management company or indemnity insurance to be provided.

jscott08

SmashedAvacado wrote: »

This isn't the whole truth. The reality is that even if a lease prohibits the making of alterations, then if the alterations are improvements to the property and they do not damage the landlord's interest in the reversion, then consent should be given - this has been entrenched in law for some time but regularly gets ignored on this board.

The work has definitely been an improvement. The flat was almost unliveable beforehand, electrical work had not been done to the proper standard and there wasn't any heating or hot water

AFF8879 wrote: »

Based on what you’ve said, I think it’s highly unlikely you’ll need to “revert” back to the old layout as nobody with an interest in the freehold would reasonably refuse works that have added value to their asset.

Things like plumbing, electrics, new hob etc you don’t need to worry about as those are not structural alterations.

- for the windows, you’ll need a copy of the specifications along with the FENSA certificate
- for the stud partition walls, you’ll need the retrospective freeholder approval (see above). The only thing I can think of that might cause an issue - if you happened to convert a closed kitchen into an open plan living area (you didn’t specify this, but it seems quite common nowadays) - this can sometimes cause issues with building control approval, e.g. sprinklers and other additional fire safety measures being required

I have the FENSA certificate and specs for the windows so all good there. In terms of layout, the kitchenette beforehand just had a doorway, no actual door. I've made it more open plan but it was technically in the same room beforehand anyway. To my knowledge there are no sprinklers in the building and the new layout doesn't negatively affect fire safety measures for anyone (although not sure they even care too much.. there wasn't even a fire alarm when i moved in)

jscott08

ethank wrote: »

You would need consent from the Freeholders (so all of the Freeholders) for the changes. A buyer will either expect the consent to be provided by the management company or indemnity insurance to be provided.

As there is a management company, would I request consent from the management company who would then request consent from each party?

Brightonbadger

Hi. I’m having some difficulty in planning how to approach my freeholder.

I’ve sort legal advice who have read the lease and told me most of the planned work I wish to do on my flat cannot have consent withheld unreasonably nor can a Premium be charged.

the freeholder is adamant I must pay £20k for permission. If I’m not bound to pay this and the lease is in my favour can I just go ahead and begin work?

Confused.

Thanks.