When is freeholder consent required?

Leasehold Properties

Freeholder consent is generally required for any changes to a leasehold property, in larger blocks there are generally restrictions on how contractors enter apartments and the times of day they can work, so it is always important to check.

Freeholders subject to estate management plans

For owners of freeholder subject to estate management plans, changes to the outside of your house may need the agreement of the owner of the estate. You might also need to get it for internal modifications, too, especially basements.

These rules apply to many owners of properties at London’s most prestigious addresses, including the Grosvenor, Crown, Ayre, Wellcome Trust, Cadogan, Howard de Walden, Portman and Bedford estates. 

The large estates have prescriptive processes for making an application for a Licence to alter that includes the information that needs to be submitted with the application, which in turn will define the other consultants that need to be appointed as part of the application process. 

Whilst these requirements may sometimes be seen as restrictive and leading to additional cost, there is the benefit that they are clearly defined and the application process can run smoothly.

Smaller Entity Freeholders or Properties with Multiple Leaseholders

Where the freeholder is a smaller entity, or is made up of a collective of the other leaseholders in a property, then the process can actually be more complex as they may not be that experienced in dealing with licences to alter and may not already have policies in place to deal with certain proposals put forwards.

In these situations it is even more important for the design team to engage at an early stage with the freeholder to agree on the process for obtaining freeholder consent. It is preferable that the freeholder appointed a suitably qualified surveyor to act on their behalf.

When to apply for freeholder consent?

Whilst it may seem like obtaining freeholder consent is something to do after obtaining planning consent and listed building approval, it is sensible to engage with the freeholder at an early stage as there is potential that the freeholder applies restrictions to development that would influence the design of the scheme submitted to the planners.

Ideally freehold organisations with have a suitably qualified surveyor acting on their behalf to administer the application, which will also cover the implementation of the works themselves. As part of an application the freeholder will require the applicant to also cover the costs of other consultants to check the proposals prepared by the client’s own design team.

How much does a license to alter application cost?

The costs vary depending on the complexity of the scheme and the number of other consultants required. Early engagement with the freeholder will establish the complexity and potential costs and can also then influence the proposed scheme.

Some proposals also include changes to the size of the leasehold property or works outside of the demise. For example adding comfort cooling can require external units to be mounted on parts of the building outside of the leasehold property, in which case the freeholder may charge a fee to allow those areas to be used. Another situation is where changes are made to a loft space to create additional habitable floor space and the size of the leasehold apartment increases, again, in these situations the freeholder will require that the leaseholder in effects purchases the additional floor space form the freehold. The same applies to extensions and roof terraces.

Can a landlord refuse a License to Alter application?

Most leasehold agreements include a statement to the effect of the leaseholder must apply to the freeholder for approval to carry out any changes to the property and that the freeholder will not “unreasonably” withhold consent. The test of what is reasonable is somewhat subjective, as such it is preferable for all parties that a suitably qualified surveyor is acting on behalf of the freeholder.

How long does a License to Alter application normally take?

Ultimately, it depends on the individual freeholder and the timing needs to be considered as part of the overall programme for the project.

Other Requirements in addition to Freeholder Consent

In addition to freeholder consent, depending on the scope of the project, it may also be necessary to obtain planning approval, listed building consent and building regulations approval. It should be noted though that sometimes the freeholder’s requirements are more restrictive/onerous than those of the planners/building regulations, so it is vital that the design team are aware of the freeholders requirements at the outset of the project or engage with them early to establish the requirements ahead of progressing with planning and building regulations applications.

Party Walls – Quite often changes to leasehold properties require party wall awards to be agreed with neighbouring properties, but even when they are not required it is worth considering the need to have a party wall surveyor carry out condition surveys of neighbouring properties before works commence to protect against claims from neighbours for any damage that they may claim has been caused to their property.

Building Safety Act – The introduction of the Building Safety Act has implications for works to leasehold properties, especially those located in designated High Risk Buildings.

A high-risk building is defined as having at least 7 storeys or being at least 18 metres in height and has at least 2 residential units.

Can I add timber flooring to a leasehold property?

Most leasehold agreements make reference to certain areas being carpeted, however there are now techniques that will allow for timber flooring, or other hard finishes to be installed in flats, that meet the same acoustic performance requirement of carpet. In some instances it is necessary to carry out acoustic testing between properties to establish the performance required and also to carry out post completion testing.

Summary

It should also be recognised that licences to alter are a good thing, in that they ensure that the works are carried out to a good standard, which should give comfort to any leaseholder living in an apartment block that whilst the requirements can sometimes annoy them, they are also protected from their neighbours carrying out unsatisfactory works.

About BB Partnership

BB Partnership have worked on projects on many of London’s major estates, including refurbishment and extensions to Grade I listed properties on the Crown Estate, Grade II Listed Buildings in The Grosvenor, Cadogan, and Wellcome Trust Estates as well as other projects on the Aryre Estate and Portman Estate.

The scale of the projects has ranged from the refurbishment of two bedroom flats to add a second bathroom and relocate the kitchen, to façade retention schemes in Belgravia on the Grosvenor Estate where we have reconstructed the whole house with the addition of a basement.

If you would like us to help with your project, then please do not hesitate to get in touch.