Jump to content

Is there a time limit on property alterations that didn't have planning permission?


Recommended Posts

My flat has had internal reorganisation of rooms - approx 10 years ago and a new lease secured since then. The freeholder has recently said his intention of forcing the original layout to be applied (but funnily says he doesn't know what it was)


Does anyone have any experience of this, please?

Changing an internal layout of rooms does not require council planning permission - there will be building regs issues when/ if load bearing walls are removed. However I suspect that a landlord could require restoration on any unauthorised changes to a rented flat. If your flat is leasehold (i.e. you own it, but someone else holds the property freehold) - then I think it would depend on what the lease says about work on the flat. Clearly a freeholder has an interest in alterations which might impact the structural integrity of the property - and I suppose if the lease is short then in the value of the property per se - a 2 bed property may have a higher value than a one large bed property, for instance.


If it is a leasehold property and the lease is silent about internal re-organsiation (outwith structural issues) then I think one could argue that a 10 year old change (with a new lease given on the changed property) would give a good case to resist the freeholder. Indeed one could argue that the lease being renewed on the altered property immediately validates the alteration.


But your best recourse is to get qualified advice from a solicitor - this will cost money initially but may save your more money and grief down the line.

  • 10 months later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Latest Discussions

    • I've used just about all the locally available supermarkets for deliveries over the years, and I now  use Waitrose for deliveries, for various reasons. They have a good range of the things I eat, their food is good quality and their "essentials" range is generally good value (except the tissues, which suddenly became so thin as to disintegrate immediately. I was mainly buying them for the nice plain boxes, so now I just put other tissues into the old Waitrose boxes 🤣) It is very rare for something I've ordered to not be available on the day. Their delivery drivers  are genuinely friendly and helpful. Their customer service is very good. On the rare occasions I've had issues, they have refunded me without quibbling. They often have special deals on some of the things I buy often, so I stock up when they are cheaper. I do occasionally compare prices with other supermarkets, and overall I really don't think Waitrose is more expensive, but obviously they might be for things I don't personally buy. I absolutely hate Sainsbury's, would use Lidl for some things but they don't deliver, Iceland has a very small range of things I eat, and I can't remember why I don't use Tesco or Asda any more. I recently checked out Ocado because there was some offer which seemed good value, but they just didn't have enough things I wanted to buy to make it worth using the offer. M&S don't deliver ( to the best of my knowledge) but in any case they seem to be still badly suffering from the recent hack into their system. Apologies, I have just remembered this thread is about shopping at actual physical stores, but probably many of the issues are the same.
    • Since I am of a certain vintage now, not sure if what I am going to suggest is even still around but here goes… use to be able to buy “dummy/mock papers on line and also had mini synopsis of Shakespeare plays specifically covering students wanting to gain a better understanding of play before taking mocks/ exams. Only know this as many many moons ago, struggled with English Literature and Language and this was the avenue-my parents went down. Also was at this point in my life, educated abroad as part of my fathers job.  
    • Love your comment about “shoehorned” - put a smile on my face..! As for comment about “Little Waitrose” ummmm - never really thought about it. Personally, could not care less. But guess Sainsbury Local and Tesco Express are to you more acceptable.. Ultimately, when I think about it, I actually don’t care what they call themselves - been lured by partially branding and partially convenience and what they offer in groceries.
Home
Events
Sign In

Sign In



Or sign in with one of these services

Search
×
    Search In
×
×
  • Create New...