Full renovation, leasehold, kids…
Discussion
Around 10 years ago missus and I bought a wreck and spent the next three years renovating a property on evenings and weekends. Back to brick. Pre kids.
Fast forward a decade and we’re a little older, have two kids under 5 and we’ve found what could be a long term home. City centre, garage, off street parking, south facing garden. There’s probably fewer than 20 of these houses in our suburb and we’ve somehow ended up with an accepted offer.
We’re going to do things a little different this time - namely getting it done quick, and mostly by somebody else! I’m happy to do internal doors, decorating, tiling.
The house is a leasehold, 950 years at £3 per year. We’ll want to buy this right away (we’ve budgeted a few grand for this).
If we wanted to push ahead with full dormer and replace existing kitchen ‘lean to’, do we need their permission before works commence? Would there be a disadvantage in getting permission first so we can crack on whilst ‘buying freehold’ goes through ? I’m not sure how long these things take, as the freeholder (corporate) understandably won’t talk to me yet.
I think it’ll be a bit of a mess living in it with kids, so we’re tempted to rent elsewhere (ideally works to be done over summer holidays). Any tips on this?
If leasehold looks to be a delay, is it viable to do electrics, bathroom, plumbing, boiler etc all in advance - and then pushing on with kitchen/dormer once that’s resolved?
Do dormers and lean tos need planning permission or is permitted development (and therefore not public knowledge) an option?
Fast forward a decade and we’re a little older, have two kids under 5 and we’ve found what could be a long term home. City centre, garage, off street parking, south facing garden. There’s probably fewer than 20 of these houses in our suburb and we’ve somehow ended up with an accepted offer.
We’re going to do things a little different this time - namely getting it done quick, and mostly by somebody else! I’m happy to do internal doors, decorating, tiling.
The house is a leasehold, 950 years at £3 per year. We’ll want to buy this right away (we’ve budgeted a few grand for this).
If we wanted to push ahead with full dormer and replace existing kitchen ‘lean to’, do we need their permission before works commence? Would there be a disadvantage in getting permission first so we can crack on whilst ‘buying freehold’ goes through ? I’m not sure how long these things take, as the freeholder (corporate) understandably won’t talk to me yet.
I think it’ll be a bit of a mess living in it with kids, so we’re tempted to rent elsewhere (ideally works to be done over summer holidays). Any tips on this?
If leasehold looks to be a delay, is it viable to do electrics, bathroom, plumbing, boiler etc all in advance - and then pushing on with kitchen/dormer once that’s resolved?
Do dormers and lean tos need planning permission or is permitted development (and therefore not public knowledge) an option?
It depends on what the lease says.
Modifications likely require permission or notice.
My worry would be that you could be in breach of the lease at the time you are seeking to buy out the freeholder which may ( or may not ) cause issues.
I suspect the only sure fire way of finding out is to ask the lawyer dealing with it if the impact given they have the lease and other paperwork in front of them.
As to permitted development again it comes down to detail. Is it is a conservation area ? How big is the dormer conversion , are you going above existing ridge line , what face of the house is the lean to on etc. in the most general of terms it is probably pd but without a lot more detail it is impossible to say.
Personally I would not jeopardise the purchase of the freehold by doing works unless I had advise this was 100% ok. I also see no harm in simply seeking permission from the freeholder per the lease which likely must not be unreasonably withheld.
Finally pd is " private " but only if you don't seek a cert of lawful use which is generally a good idea for major things ( dormer ) as the next buyer is going to want clarity it is all legal.
Modifications likely require permission or notice.
My worry would be that you could be in breach of the lease at the time you are seeking to buy out the freeholder which may ( or may not ) cause issues.
I suspect the only sure fire way of finding out is to ask the lawyer dealing with it if the impact given they have the lease and other paperwork in front of them.
As to permitted development again it comes down to detail. Is it is a conservation area ? How big is the dormer conversion , are you going above existing ridge line , what face of the house is the lean to on etc. in the most general of terms it is probably pd but without a lot more detail it is impossible to say.
Personally I would not jeopardise the purchase of the freehold by doing works unless I had advise this was 100% ok. I also see no harm in simply seeking permission from the freeholder per the lease which likely must not be unreasonably withheld.
Finally pd is " private " but only if you don't seek a cert of lawful use which is generally a good idea for major things ( dormer ) as the next buyer is going to want clarity it is all legal.
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