Getting leasehold flat double glazed

Thurrafork

Hello folks

I am the leaseholder of a small 2 bed 2nd floor flat.
The windows still have single glazing and this, combined with the heating being via rather aged storage heaters, means that the winter months can be pretty expensive in terms of energy bills.
So I want to get new double glazed windows installed.
But I'm rather unsure of the preparatory logistics of this.
Who's responsibility is it? Mine, as the leaseholder; or the freeholder?
I've looked through the lease and I cant see anything that obviously relates to the windows.
If I need to pay for them, exactly what permissions do I need?
Is it just freeholder consent? Do I also need some kind of permission from the local council?
I extended my lease a few years ago. I read somewhere that extending the lease somehow changes the things in line with more modern leasing procedures and therefore no permission needs to be sought to upgrade to double glazing. Is that right?
I've tried to contact the landlord company, to no avail.
I sent an email to the management company on monday but still haven't heard anything back. They say their phone number is just for emergencies but I think I might call them if I don't get an email back from them soon.
I obviously want to get this sorted before the months start getting really cold!

Any help or suggestions, or experiences of people who've been in a similar position would be very useful to hear!

Thank you

Jamie

kasqueak

1. If you have permission from the freeholder then you can have them installed at your own cost. 

2. How many other flats do you share the block/building with? Do you pay into a maintenance fund? If you do then check if replacement windows is on the schedule of works to be carried out in the near future. 

Ectophile

Windows are usually the responsibility of the freeholder.  But assume nothing; read what the lease says.  When I lived in a flat, it turned out to be the leaseholder's responsibility.  If you've renewed the lease, read what that says.

Asking the freeholder for permission will probably cost you money.  They like to bill leaseholders just to read a letter and have a think about what it says.  So unless you have to ask for permission, don't.

You'd only need permission from the council if it's a listed building or in a conservation area.  If it's in a conservation area, then check what the rules of that particular area say.

carefullycautious

Has anyone else done this to their flats? If yes ask them how they went about applying

another_casualty

Regarding the mgt co ; putting Covid to one side , some mgt companies only take phone calls at certain times in the week . If you've sent an email , they should get back to you.  if it were me, I'd wait for a couple of weeks for them to respond . 

zwilcoxen

Slightly off topic but if keeping the flat warm and saving money in the long run is the goal have you looked at triple glazing?. Also if you are top floor with loft access is there any insulation up there?. 

Live in a top floor flat myself and it had 75mm of insulation. Topping that up to 350 made a notable difference (-5 in the lounge in winter to +12) with the same storage heaters and windows.

You should have a copy of the lease from when you moved in or renewed. Reading and checking that may be faster than trying to get anything from the management company or freeholder.

cattie

When I had new double glazed windows a few years back it was all down to leaseholders to arrange & pay for. As leaseholders, all we had to do was inform the managing agents prior to the new windows being fitted. Managing agents then just wanted assurance that the new windows would, externally, look no different to the existing windows.