Help - Held to Ransom - Retrospective Consent for Windows - Changed by Previous Owner.

bertiewhite

AdrianC wrote: »

Non-structural things like internal walls aren't. Remove them, and the building functions in exactly the same way. They're purely layout.

Some walls (supporting) are structural though, others are purely for partition.

AdrianC wrote: »

Remove the windows

....and the building still stands, because there are supporting lintels above them. I understood "structural" to mean "supporting" and help to hold the building up.

jaikom

Hello All,

Freeholder appointed Surveyor finally turned up and said that there are no lintels installed and he won’t grant the licence for this reason.

Out of 35 flats he could only see lintels on two flats (metal sticking out). He said that I have to prove it to him that lintels are installed.

The only way to do it would be to drill small holes however my management agent said he won’t permit that and I have to get permission from freeholder.

If management over sees the building then why did they not raise the windows issue with all other flats, assuming they are missing.

4 flats got sold this year and same buyer purchased an other property in my flats after my purchase process was started and that sale completed without any hiccups considering same solicitors on both sides .

All in all 4 properties were sold this year in my block of flats and none of them had this issue according to management.

I am not sure how much it costs to fit lintels now on 4 windows and I think I will have to drop the whole sale and purchase of new property.

Absolutely gutted.....!

I am considering taking the previous solicitor to court about not checking up and giving wrong advice.

Regards,
Jai

FreeBear

jaikom wrote: »

Out of 35 flats he could only see lintels on two flats (metal sticking out). He said that I have to prove it to him that lintels are installed.

The only way to do it would be to drill small holes however my management agent said he won’t permit that and I have to get permission from freeholder.

I am not sure how much it costs to fit lintels now on 4 windows and I think I will have to drop the whole sale and purchase of new property.

A simple stud/metal detector should easily pick up on any steel lintels if they are fitted. The age of the building can also be used as an indicator of the use of steel lintels. Failing that, a small hole drilled in to an external mortar joint where one would expect to find a lintel would work. Easy to patch after the event.

If lintels are required, expect to budget up to £1,000 each depending on the need for scaffolding and freeholder fees.

jaikom

I will try and get someone to check for lintels and if they are not present then 1000 per windows n permission costs are too steep. I guess I am trapped in this property now.

AdrianC

You're talking about 4 windows - so £4k.

Even on a ~£100k flat, that's a tiny proportion of the value.

jaikom

I agree but 4K is a massive dent that we have not factored for and we agreed on a low end of sale price just so we can complete and buy the property we liked

FreeBear

£4K would be a worst case guesstimate. Had to fit a lintel to a ground floor window earlier in the year (fitting new windows). The original quote was £300 based on a full days work removing quite a few bricks. In the end, got away with removing just a handful of bricks and a half day of labour. Being a freehold property, didn't have any extra fees to pay out.

jaikom

Thanks, FreeBear.

I will check for lintels and get a quote if the don’t have them .. it’s a1970’s purpose built flats.

I cannot understand how other flats got sold without lintels in place. Five flats sold just this year.

The windows were replaced by Fensa approved builder however it’s more than 10 years now.

fwor

I'm struggling to understand how it could be possible for a 1970's purpose built block of flats to have been built without lintels over the windows.

How could that have got building control signoff in the 1970's? Surely lintels above windows were not optional then?

I wouldn't expect to necessarily see "metal sticking out" because I would have thought that a concrete lintel would have been just as likely as a steel one in the 1970's?

AdrianC

fwor wrote: »

I'm struggling to understand how it could be possible for a 1970's purpose built block of flats to have been built without lintels over the windows.

The frames fitted when it was built could have been structural, while the replacement tupperware ones aren't.

[quote[I wouldn't expect to necessarily see "metal sticking out" because I would have thought that a concrete lintel would have been just as likely as a steel one in the 1970's?[/QUOTE]
Indeed.