Thinking about carrying out alterations to your leasehold property?
Before you start planning the works in detail, one of the first things you should check is your lease’s alterations covenant. This is the section of the lease that explains what you can and cannot do when it comes to making changes to the property.
Start with Your Lease
To begin, you will need a copy of your lease. This is often included in the seller’s pack from when you purchased the property. Alternatively, you can usually download a copy from the Land Registry for a small fee.
Once you have your lease, look for the alterations clause. This may sit within the tenant covenants, user covenants or a specific section dealing with alterations, improvements or additions.
What Are You Looking For?
There are usually three main types of alterations covenant:
Fully Qualified Covenant
This is generally the most leaseholder-friendly type of covenant.
It means that you need the freeholder’s consent before carrying out alterations, but that consent must not be unreasonably withheld.
Look out for wording such as:
“Consent not to be unreasonably withheld.”
If your lease includes this wording, you are likely dealing with a fully qualified covenant.
Qualified Covenant
A qualified covenant means that alterations are not allowed unless the freeholder gives consent.
However, the lease may not expressly say whether that consent can or cannot be unreasonably withheld.
If your lease simply says that consent is required, but does not mention reasonableness, this is likely to be a qualified covenant. The exact position will depend on the wording of the lease and the nature of the proposed works.
Absolute Covenant
An absolute covenant is the most restrictive type.
It means that alterations are completely prohibited, with no clear reference to consent being available.
In this situation, consent may only be possible if the freeholder agrees to waive or vary the clause, usually by way of a licence for alterations.
Why This Matters
Once you understand which type of alterations covenant your lease contains, you will have a much better idea of how your proposed works can progress.
It can also help you understand whether freeholder consent is likely to be required, how straightforward that consent may be to obtain, and whether a licence for alterations is likely to be needed.
Need Help Reviewing Your Lease?
If you are struggling to locate the alterations clause, or would prefer a surveyor to review the lease on your behalf, we can assist.
Send your lease and proposed works information to our surveyors, and we can review the wording, confirm the type of alterations covenant and advise on the likely next steps.
