Leasehold alterations

• Make an application for a leasehold alteration
• Asbestos
• Fees

The Council has a duty to consider requests for alterations from leaseholders. They have produced a set of guidelines to help you through the application process. Please read the guidelines before making your application.

Make an application for a leasehold alteration

Written conditional consent

Landlord’s written consent for alterations must be given by Tower Hamlets Council. 

If your proposal is accepted you will receive a conditional consent letter. This will set out a number of conditions which you must fulfill before full written consent is provided.

You must get written conditional consent from us before you approach the Planning Department or Building Control. Without the full written consent you will be in breach of your lease. If you carry out unauthorised alterations you may be asked to put the property back to its original condition. We may also take legal action against you.

Full Landlord consent 

In order to get full Landlord consent you may need a number of other permissions to support your application such as:

• building control
• planning, or
• compliance with fire regulations

These departments should only be approached once you have received written conditional consent from us. 

You will need to be clear in your application exactly what you are planning to do, who and how you will carry them out. Your contractor may need to be an approved contractor (e.g. for gas appliances) and may need insurance cover.

Complete an application to seek written consent carry out alterations to a leasehold property. 

 
In order for you to carry out an alteration to your property you have to receive written conditional consent from the landlord.

• Ensure your alteration is only proposed to the part of the building/land under your ownership.
• Provide us full details of the works proposed (including plans, drawings, and measurements where possible) you intend to carry out (before and after). Ensuring that the proposed area is owned and demised to you.
• Provide details of a reputable contractor with Public Liability Insurance of up to £1 million who will carry out the work to an acceptable standard that meets health and safety requirements.
• Provide a Structural Engineer's report if removing internal walls (whether partition or supporting walls) and to ensure that the application does not cause damage or depreciation to the structure or value of the building.
• Ensure your service charge account is paid up in full with no monies left owing on the account.   

Contact

Once you received conditional landlord consent you may be required to contact the:

• Planning Department email: planningandbuilding@towerhamlets.gov.uk, and
• Building Control Section email: buildingcontrol@towerhamlets.gov.uk

For more information telephone: 020 7364 5009

Higher-risk buildings

If your property is in a building that has at least 7 storeys or is at least 18 metres high and falls within the description of a High Rise Building (HRB), you will be required to submit an application via the Building Safety Regulator website. Manage a building control application for a higher-risk building - GOV.UK 

After we receive your request and fee

When we receive your request and the fee, the Alterations Officer will review your application and work with you. If you need to make any changes to your plans so that they meet our requirements, we will let you know what these are and what you need to do. 

Granting conditional landlord’s consent

When the Alterations Officer and Surveyor have agreed your alteration in principle, your application will then be reviewed by the landlord’s team with a view to granting conditional landlord’s consent. You do not need to be involved in this part of the process as we will do it on your behalf. We will write to you to tell you when we have given landlord’s conditional consent. The Leasehold Services Manager will forward the application to the landlord’s team with their recommendations regarding the consent.

Asbestos 

Your alteration may affect a part of the building where asbestos is present. For example if you are putting in sound insulation you may disturb either your property or have to (with our permission) go into the reserved part of the building that belonging to the council.

After seeking landlord consent you must employ a contractor to carry out the work and/or remove the asbestos.

Fees

The following fees apply for alteration applications: 

Additional fees

• £50 an hour for additional significant administrative work where required in relation to an application 

We will carry out a post inspection before a final consent (licence to alter) is issued. Sometimes we may have a complete Deed of Variation to your lease. 

Changing your front door

If a leaseholder is changing their front door, while they would require our consent, they would not be required to pay an application fee. However, you will need to pay a post inspection fee of £145.