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License to alter

I’m in a leasehold, converted Victorian flat, and am getting soundproofing in my ceiling in one room. The management company advises a licence to alter is needed. They are quoting 950 plus VAT for the building surveyor work (for them to do their own assessments that this work is fine to do), through their own surveying company, and then the legal fees of their solicitor to draw up the license are 350 plus vat. Does anyone have experience of this? Seems huge amounts of money- adding on a whole 20% plus to the entire cost. 

Comments

  • gwynlas
    gwynlas Posts: 2,533 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    A lot depends on the size of the management company this sounds like one of the nationals who inflate any charges they can as they hold you to ransom. Sorry but it is in your interest to pay it if you want to go ahead. If the conversion was recent there should be a good level of accoustic insulation between floors anyway. If you are only wanting to do one room is it worth it as sound carries and you might not solve the issue?
  • Ectophile
    Ectophile Posts: 8,419 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    I think your mistake was mentioning it to the management company.
    If it sticks, force it.
    If it breaks, well it wasn't working right anyway.
  • Helplesssheep
    Helplesssheep Posts: 41 Forumite
    10 Posts
    Ectophile said:
    I think your mistake was mentioning it to the management company.
    Per my lease I have to, as it counts as serious structural works as I’m dismantling the ceiling. do people actually just not declare such things?
  • Helplesssheep
    Helplesssheep Posts: 41 Forumite
    10 Posts
    gwynlas said:
    A lot depends on the size of the management company this sounds like one of the nationals who inflate any charges they can as they hold you to ransom. Sorry but it is in your interest to pay it if you want to go ahead. If the conversion was recent there should be a good level of accoustic insulation between floors anyway. If you are only wanting to do one room is it worth it as sound carries and you might not solve the issue?
    It isn’t one of the nationals, no. Yes I think I’m just going to have to pay. Fortunately this should be the only work I do on the flat which counts as a full alteration and thus needs to go through them. 

    Yes the soundproofing is needed and should work for the one room. 
  • Ectophile
    Ectophile Posts: 8,419 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Ectophile said:
    I think your mistake was mentioning it to the management company.
    Per my lease I have to, as it counts as serious structural works as I’m dismantling the ceiling. do people actually just not declare such things?
    Doesn't sound like anything structural to me.
    If it sticks, force it.
    If it breaks, well it wasn't working right anyway.
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