Damage Control: Navigating Apartment Alterations Challenges

Leasehold apartment living means the sound of hammering, sawing, drilling, and the occasional swear word from a frustrated contractor, is not uncommon. These are the signs of change, of improvement, or so we hope. All works carried out in an apartment can, and often do, lead to some level of disruption for other residents. It’s … Read more

Don’t let Licence to Alter Drive you up the Wall

The number of leaseholders seeking permission to alter their apartments are on the rise. This has been driven by the need for more homeworking space, perhaps a children’s playroom, or simply to capitalise on the value created from an alteration.  Building surveyors and property managers are seeing more sophistication and ingenuity in effecting those changes, … Read more

Licence to Alter: New builds

new build residential block

There is a widespread misconception that newly-built modern flats are entirely fit for purpose from the word go and will require only minimal maintenance. Home buyers and even many property professionals assume that beyond a bit of cosmetic upkeep, brand new flats won’t require any significant work until years into their life. This is a … Read more

Licence to Alter: Retrospective consent

While any competent surveyor will advise when licence to alter is required, it is ultimately the responsibility of the leaseholder to obtain a licence when necessary before undertaking alterations. A contractor is unlikely to ask for the relevant consent paperwork before beginning work, so in purely practical terms, it is perfectly possible to carry out … Read more

Licence to Alter: Alterations under the radar

Licence to alter can often seem like an awful lot of trouble over what might appear to be a trivial matter. Leaseholders tend to think of themselves as home owners with the right to do what they like to their own properties, even if that’s technically not the case. And managing agents typically have enough … Read more