Navigating the process of making alterations to a leasehold apartment involves more than just having a vision; it requires careful coordination and permission from various parties, starting with the landlord. The first step in this journey is obtaining a ‘licence to alter’, a critical form of consent that leaseholders must secure from the building’s landlord … Read more
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
In this blog, I look at one of the most common apartment alterations and how Faidi should guide those involved in licence to alter. A typical, older flat lease will require that all parts of the demise are carpeted (including underlay), with the exception of the kitchen and bathrooms. The main driver for the presence … Read more
Licence to do what?! Working as a building surveyor gives you some fascinating insights into how people live and what makes them tick. We’re often in and out of people’s homes, after all, and we’re trained to be observant! But perhaps there’s no aspect of a surveyor’s job more revealing than working on licence to … Read more
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
Jonathan is a leaseholder in a lovely two-bedroom apartment in a stunning residential block. He had lived there for three years and one day he had a vision! This involved knocking down a partition wall between his kitchen and sitting room, and installing a hard-wood floor throughout the newly created, open-plan space. He knocked on the wall … Read more
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 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
‘Lease’ is the legal term for a property contract giving the leaseholder exclusive possession of land for a determinable period of time. The lease itself is essentially a written agreement recording the terms on which the landlord cedes possession of the property to the leaseholder. If the leaseholder ‘sells’ the property, strictly speaking what they … Read more
Leaseholders do not own their property outright, but have the right to occupy or sublet it for an extended period, typically 99 years or more. This means they do not have an automatic right to make lasting alterations to the property, such as installing a new wet room or replacing the windows. Instead, they must … Read more
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