Section 20 question

Brokenlynx

I'm one of three parties in a share of freehold where we all live in a single building that has been split into three flats.

One of the other parties involved in the share has asked me to sign a letter that states the following: 

I give permission as a freeholder of the property for <<Freeholder B>> to carry out non-structural alterations to the flat that they own. 

The alterations will consist of....

All work will be carried out in a professional manner with compliance to building standards.

The letter itself seems fine but I'm just wondering the following: 

• Does this alone constitute a S20? 
• Is there anything else I should ask for from this notification? (e.g: length of time the works are estimated to take, confirmation that no liability will stretch outside of the flat they're being completed in)

Basically I'm just wondering if this is a good opportunity to make sure the works cause me the minimum disruption and no financial cost even though they shouldn't as they're not in my flat anyway. 

Thanks in advance. Feel free to ask for any further info.

eddddy

This doesn't sound like it's related in any way to a section 20 consultation.

To me it simply sounds like...

• A flat owner (leaseholder) wants to make alterations to their flat.

• Their lease says they need  consent from the freeholder to make alterations.

• So the flat owner (leaseholder) wants all 3 joint freeholders to each sign a letter, giving consent for the alterations.

(FWIW, I applaud the flat owner who's asked you to sign this. It's a very sensible thing to do. I would do the same.)



Lots of people who post here don't really understand what "share of freehold" means, so I'll briefly explain. Apologies if you know the following already...

4 properties and 4 titles exist

1. ) Person A owns the leasehold of Flat 1
2. ) Person B owns the leasehold of Flat 2
3. ) Person C owns the leasehold of Flat 3
4. ) Person A, Person B and Person C jointly own the freehold of the building that contains the flats

So in your case, a leaseholder (Person A) is asking the freeholder (Person A, Person B and Person C) for consent to make alterations.

Jonboy_1984

This is not a section 20 scenario:

Section 20 is when a freeholder(s) is looking to make larger repairs at the leaseholders expense and is the process to inform, allow leaseholders to scrutinise and then collect the money.


This is a leaseholder asking for a License to Alter from the freeholder(s). 

It can be expected to contain details of how the work will be done including:

• Access arrangements/storage of materials/parking for contractors.
• Any restrictions on hours they can operate.
• Responsibility for any cleaning/damage to the communal areas.
• Chosen contractors insurance details.
• For the freeholders to determine if they want a structural survey done at the leaseholders expense depending on the work planned. 
• It would also be prudent to photograph the communal access routes before they start to avoid disputes over damage later.