WHAT IS LICENCE?
Under most residential leases a tenant is required to obtain consent from the landlord and/ or the management company before making any alterations to his/her property. It’s a simple process also known as an application for a “Licence for Alterations”.
The purpose is to record all works that alter the tenant’s demise and protect the freeholders interests and those of other leaseholders/tenants. Whether or not consent (a licence to alter) is required will be determined by (i) the scope of works and (ii) what the lease says. In most leases, landlords place a restriction on the extent of alteration, extension or other changes and improvements to a property that the tenant can undertake during the term of the lease without landlord’s consent. Generally, minor modernisation works, such as internal decoration, will not require consent.
The most common alterations which normally require a Licence to Alter include:
- altering the structure
- installing additional sanitary facilities
- installing new heating or alternative service installations
- cutting through an external wall
- removing any wall, solid or partition wall
- changing any windows
