The lease for your property requires that you seek written permission from us before carrying out certain alterations or improvements to your property. If you wish to make an alteration, for which you are required to seek our consent, we will not refuse permission unless there is a good reason to do so.
When requesting permission to carry out an alteration you must make a written request and obtain permission from us before you make any arrangements for the work to begin. You should notify your contractor that you will require written consent before any works can commence.
Alterations or improvements which require permission
Most leases only require leaseholders to request permission to carry out structural alterations or additions. However, there are a small number which require permission to be sought before carrying out any alterations to the property (and which prohibit any structural alterations). It is important that you check the lease for your individual property, which will confirm what alterations require our consent.
If your lease requires you to obtain our permission before carrying out any alterations, we will not ask you to obtain this for minor home improvements, such as:
- installation of fitted wardrobes or cupboards
- replacement of carpets
We will require permission for:
- replacing your kitchen or bathroom
- installing wooden or laminate flooring
- carrying out any electrical or gas works
Fees
An administration fee of £60 will be payable to cover the cost of processing your application.
In certain circumstances it may be necessary for a technical officer to visit to inspect the area of the proposed alteration. An additional fee of £150 will be payable to cover the cost of the technical officer attending. It may also be necessary to inspect the work once this has been completed (no additional fee will be payable if a second visit is required).
If due to the nature of the proposed alteration, it will be necessary to for multiple departments to provide input and technical expertise into assessing your application, a fee of £500 will be payable (this amount includes the technical officer fee). This will only apply to proposed alterations which are complex and require specialist technical input.
If due to the type of alteration, it will be necessary for you to enter into an agreement with the council a fee will be payable to cover our legal costs (fee to be confirmed upon request).
An agreement will be required if permission is to be given subject to you agreeing to take responsibility for the future repair, maintenance, and eventual replacement of the alteration.
Alteration types
The table below provides details of some of the more common alterations or improvements which leaseholders may request permission to undertake and our general position. However, it is important to note that each application will be assessed individually and so there may be circumstances where works which would generally be approved are refused due to the structure of the building.
We will not provide permission for works to be carried out which will:
- have a detrimental impact on the condition of the property or the building
- pose a potential health and safety risk
- potentially cause nuisance or annoyance to other occupiers of the building
- place any financial liability on the council in respect of the future maintenance, repair or replacement of the alteration
- be in an area which isn’t included within the leaseholders’ ownership
- be in a part of the building which isn’t included in the leaseholders’ ownership (for example, a loft or attic space or basement, which isn’t included in the property demised).
Alterations table
| Alteration | Will permission generally be given? |
|---|
| Replacement windows | Permission will generally be given for windows to be replaced on a ‘like for like’ basis (for example, if they are the same design as the existing windows). |
| Changing external windows to doors (such as French/patio) | In most cases, permission will not be given to change external windows to French or patio doors, as such a change would not generally be in keeping with other properties in the building. The only exception would be if the change would not have any detrimental impact on the structure or aesthetics of the building and would not impact any neighbour’s enjoyment of their property (for example, if the leaseholder owns the lease of a house). |
| Replacement external dwelling doors | Permission would only be given for an external door to be replaced if this wasn’t a fire door (doors of flats which face onto internal communal areas are all fire doors). The reason for this, is that the council is responsible for making sure that all fire doors in the building comply with fire safety regulations. |
| Solar panels | Permission will not be given for solar panels to be installed on roofs of blocks of flats, as this would place the council at risk of incurring additional costs in the future. The only exception would be if the property was a house, and the leaseholder was responsible for carrying out any works/repairs required to the roof under the terms of their lease. |
| Conservatories and porches | Permission will generally only be given for leaseholders of houses to erect conservatories or porches and then only on land which falls within their ownership. The only exception may be where the leaseholder of a flat in a converted house/cottage style flat had an area of land included within their ownership and the erection of a conservatory/porch would not have any detrimental impact on any neighbouring property. Any permission granted would be subject to the leaseholder entering into a licence agreement which would make them and future owners responsible for the repair, maintenance and eventual replacement of the structure. |
| Satellite dishes | Any requests to install satellite dishes will be assessed in accordance with the
satellite dish policy.
|
| Sheds, greenhouses and fences | Permission will not be given for leaseholders to erect sheds, greenhouses or other structures on communal land, nor to fence off any area of the common areas. This is because all leaseholders and tenants occupying the building have the right to access and enjoy all communal land. |
Request permission to make changes
Please visit your
local housing office or email
hlleasehold@leeds.gov.uk to request an application form. Once completed, please return to us along with the administration fee.
Alterations carried out without consent
Carrying out works which, under the terms of your lease, require our permission without obtaining consent will place you in breach of your lease. In such cases, we would require you to seek permission retrospectively. In certain circumstances this may result in you being required to remove the alteration and re-instate the property back to its original condition.
