Ttrev

Leaseholder in a 2-bed ground floor Victorian conversion, 3 flats in the building, flats jointly own freehold and are all owner-occupiers. I'm planning the following works: Replacing the kitchen - I'm not touching entry and exit of external services (gas, water) but will be swapping position of sink and hob, adding a dishwasher and replacing gas with induction hob, so new plumbing and electrical work will be required, including replacing the fuse box to bring it up to current regulations Replacing radiators throughout the flat, all in-situ apart from one which is moving to the other side of a room Plaster skimming some irregular walls New floor (floating engineered boards over existing floorboards, replacing skirting boards). Redecorating throughout Relevant clause from my lease (drafted 1982 when the house was converted): "Not to make any structural alterations improvements or additions to the Demised Premises nor to erect any new buildings thereon or move any or the landlord's fixtures without the previous consent in writing of the Lessor such consent not to be unreasonably delayed or withheld". Definition of my demise from the lease is attached. There are no restrictions on flooring in the lease. Questions: What constitutes "landlord's fixtures" in particular the current kitchen units, internal wiring and plumbing? Do I need consent? What form would this consent take? If the landlord mandates a Licence to Alter rather than say a simple letter, do I have to comply? I can see the benefit for both parties, but one of the other two freeholders is likely to drag it out and make it expensive. The lease refers to "unreasonable delay" in giving consent. What length of time constitutes unreasonable? The same freeholder has a history of taking a month or more to reply to emails. Many thanks in advance!

One last question: if some of the supporting work involves putting a padstone into the wall separating my flat from the house's communal hall, then is this wall outside the demise of my flat (the lease says the demise includes the internal faces of the external walls of the flat, I guess this is pretty standard) and if so I guess the freeholders could just refuse since my lease only allows work within the demise? Or would it count as an unavoidable part of the improvement work which they can't refuse unreasonably?

Thanks guys - really helpful advice.

Understood and thanks for your help 🙌

Thanks again. I should clarify, it's the upstairs neighbours who want a party wall agreement, in addition to the Licence to Alter that I need from them as shared freeholders. Is that justified?

Thanks @saveasteading! 1. SE drawings attached. The supporting work will be under the beam so not directly connected to the wall above, but does involve work on the wall of the communal hall, so I guess that counts as a party wall? 3. Floor are wooden floorboards over joists and the upstairs bedroom is not carpeted. Will take loads of photos.

Hi there surveyors! I have a question about managing freeholder disputes over alterations. I live in the ground floor flat of a converted 3 story Victorian house, 3 flats, own share of freehold with the other flat owner-occupiers (one 1-bed flat at the back of the the first floor, one 2-bed flat at the front of the first floor and the second floor). I want to knock two rooms through to make an open-plan living / kitchen area. The wall I want to remove was not there when the house was built, and there's an iron beam above it holding the rest of the house up so the wall is not really load-bearing. I've had a structural engineer prepare calculations and drawings specifying some minor supporting work which may be necessary when we expose the beam and he's had a look. The work would take 2-3 months in total I guess. The issue is that my fellow freeholders look like they're going to fight this tooth and nail. We'll probably need a surveyor to draw up the docs and arbitrate. Some questions though before I decide whether it's worth the fight: For a job like this, do we need a Party Wall Agreement as well as a Licence to Alter? Can they object to the work on grounds of noise and disruption? One of the couple in the 2 bed flat works with vulnerable children, is WFH since the pandemic so does everything on video calls, doesn't have an office to go to. She and her husband do however have two large double bedrooms on the second floor at the top of the house. He works in one, she works in their living room which is directly above my living room where a lot of the work will be done. I've suggested they both work on the second floor away from the noise but they don't want to and haven't given me a good reason. Is this something a surveyor would be able adjudicate on in the event of a dispute, or are we getting into legalities beyond a surveyor's scope? The kitchen of the new open-plan space will be below the bedroom of the 1-bed flat. Can the owner object to the new configuration on the basis of potential extra noise from the kitchen and living room below? If so will sound-proofing the ceiling be enough to address this? Many thanks in advance.