Undertaking work to your flat? Do you need consent?

As a leaseholder, you may want to make alterations to your leasehold property, whether that is an entire conversion involving moving of structural walls and creating a new floor plan; a new bathroom; erecting a partition wall; replacing windows; or even painting and decorating the property.

What most leaseholders do not realise is that work they want to undertake to their property may actually require their landlord’s consent.

Whether consent is required or not will depend on the terms of your lease. It is, therefore, always necessary to check the terms of your lease and ensure that the lease is complied with before undertaking any works.

If you fail to obtain the landlord’s consent where it is required, you could be in beach of the terms of your lease and face the landlord bringing action against you. Such action may involve an application for specific performance requiring you to put the property back into its original state at your own expense; or even an application to forfeit the lease meaning the property is given back to your landlord.

Alternatively, if the works have already been undertaken and consent was required, if your landlord is agreeable to those works, your landlord may be willing to grant retrospective consent. However, this cannot be guaranteed and the landlord is not compelled to grant it. This is why it is so important to check whether or not you will need the landlord’s consent before you start any works.

If you are planning on carrying out work to your property and are unsure whether your landlord’s consent will be required, please contact us and we will happily discuss your options with you.