Leaseholder Renovation Rules — What Flat Owners Can and Cannot Do

Your lease is a legal document that defines what you can do to your flat. The key clauses affecting renovation are: the "alterations and additions" clause (typically prohibits structural alterations, external changes, and sometimes even non-structural internal changes without consent); the "nuisance and annoyance" clause (prohibits works that disturb neighbours — relevant for timing and noise); the "insurance" clause (requires notification to the freeholder's insurer); and the "structure and common parts" clause (defines what you own vs what the freeholder owns). In most standard leases, the floor slab, load-bearing walls, and the roof are the freeholder's responsibility. You own the internal surfaces.

A Licence to Alter (LTA) is formal written consent from the freeholder (or management company) to carry out specific works that the lease would otherwise prohibit. For structural work in a flat (removing a wall, inserting a steel beam, creating a new opening), an LTA is almost always required. The process: you submit a specification of the proposed works with structural engineer's drawings; the freeholder's surveyor reviews and may request changes; the freeholder's solicitor drafts the LTA; both parties sign. Costs: the freeholder's surveyor fee (£500–£2,000), the freeholder's solicitor fee (£500–£1,500), and a "licence fee" of £250–£1,000 are typical. Timescale: 4–12 weeks. Do not start structural work until the LTA is signed.

Flooring is where many leaseholders fall foul of their lease without realising it. Most mansion block leases require a minimum percentage of floor area to be carpeted — typically 80%. This is because hard flooring (wood, stone, ceramic tiles) transmits impact noise (footsteps, dropped items) significantly more than carpet. A single flat replacing carpet with engineered oak can create a serious nuisance for the flat below. Some leases specifically prohibit hard flooring without acoustic underlayment meeting a minimum specification. Check your lease before ordering wood or stone flooring. If you want hard flooring throughout, obtain consent and specify the acoustic underlay.

Removing or altering any wall that forms part of the structure (typically all walls on the party wall lines, the front and rear walls, and any wall marked as structural on the original plans) requires both a Licence to Alter from the freeholder and Building Regulations approval. Even non-structural partitions often require the freeholder's consent under the lease. Before committing to an open-plan conversion of a flat, obtain a structural engineer's report confirming which walls are structural, then approach the freeholder for an LTA. Some freeholders refuse LTAs for structural alterations that affect shared structure — check early in the planning process.

Renovating without the required consent is a breach of your lease. The freeholder can: require you to reinstate the original condition at your expense; pursue an injunction to stop further work; include this breach in any proceedings on other lease obligations; and — most damagingly — this breach must be disclosed when you sell. A buyer's solicitor will ask for evidence of consent for any works done during your ownership. A breach of lease is a serious legal and financial risk that is entirely avoidable by obtaining consent in advance.