Renovating a Leasehold Flat: Getting the Freeholder's Consent

Why the lease comes first

When you buy a leasehold flat you buy a long tenancy, not the building. The freeholder (the landlord) usually keeps the structure, the roof, the external walls and the common parts, and the lease sets out what you may and may not do inside your flat. LEASE, the government-funded Leasehold Advisory Service, points out that you may still need the landlord's permission even if you already have planning permission or building regulations approval. The three are separate, and you need each one that applies.

For a buyer this matters twice: once for the works you plan after completion, and once for any works the seller has already done. Alterations made without consent are a breach of the lease, and that problem passes to you when you buy.

Reading the alterations clause

Look for the tenant's covenants, usually in a schedule near the end of the lease. The alterations clause is often split into structural and non-structural work, and each part can be written in a different way.

Type	Typical wording	What it means in practice
Absolute	"Not to make any structural alterations"	The work is not allowed. The landlord can refuse for any reason, or agree a waiver or variation on its own terms.
Qualified	"Not without the landlord's prior written consent"	You must ask first. For improvements, the law adds that consent is not to be unreasonably withheld.
Fully qualified	"Such consent not to be unreasonably withheld"	The same protection, written into the lease itself.
No restriction	Clause silent on the work	Lease consent may not be needed, but other clauses (nuisance, floor coverings, services) can still apply.

Section 19(2) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1927 is the key rule. Where a lease forbids improvements without consent, it is treated as saying that consent is not to be unreasonably withheld, whatever the lease says. The landlord can still require, as a condition, a reasonable sum for any damage to or loss in value of its property, its legal and other expenses properly incurred, and, for an improvement that does not add to the letting value, an undertaking to put the flat back as it was where that is reasonable. Not every alteration counts as an improvement, and the section does not help with an absolute covenant, so ask your conveyancer how your lease reads.

You may also see the Landlord and Tenant Act 1988 mentioned. On its wording, its duty to decide within a reasonable time and give reasons covers consent to assigning, underletting, charging or parting with possession. It does not cover alterations.

Structural and non-structural work

Structural work means anything that touches load-bearing walls, floor joists, beams, the external walls or the roof. These parts are usually not included in your flat, so many leases forbid structural alterations outright. Non-structural work, such as moving a stud partition, refitting a kitchen in the same place or changing doors, is more often allowed with consent. Whether a wall is structural is a question for an engineer, not for the floor plan.

How a licence for alterations works

For anything beyond minor work, consent is normally given as a formal licence for alterations: a deed between you and the landlord. The usual steps are:

1. Read the lease and find out who the landlord is and whether a managing agent handles applications.
2. Send a written application with drawings, a specification and, for structural work, an engineer's calculations and method statement.
3. The landlord's surveyor reviews the scheme and may ask for changes or more information.
4. The landlord's solicitor drafts the licence, setting conditions such as working hours, insurance, protection of common parts and an inspection at the end.
5. You sign the licence, then start work, then the landlord's surveyor signs the work off.

Costs. Leases commonly make you pay the landlord's legal and surveyor's costs of dealing with the application, as section 19(2) allows. Charges for approvals under a lease are administration charges under Schedule 11 to the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002: a variable charge is payable only to the extent it is reasonable, and you can ask the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to decide whether it is payable. Fees vary widely between landlords, so ask the managing agent for its fee list before you budget.

What has changed in 2026. The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 is only partly in force. The duty on landlords to publish administration charge schedules (section 61) starts on 1 November 2027, and the new limits on landlords recovering litigation costs from leaseholders start on 1 April 2027, under commencement regulations made on 25 October 2026. On 13 November 2026 those sections are in force only so that the government can make the detailed regulations. Separately, since 31 January 2025 you no longer need to have owned a flat for two years before claiming a lease extension.

What usually needs consent

Every lease is different, but these are the works that most often need the landlord's consent, and the other approvals that sit alongside it.

Work	Lease consent	Building regulations	Points to watch
Removing or moving a load-bearing wall	Usually needed, often forbidden outright	Yes, with structural calculations	Party wall notices may be needed if it affects a shared wall or floor
Moving a stud partition	Often needed	May be needed if it changes the fire escape route	The lease plan may no longer match the flat
Hard flooring in place of carpet	Often restricted	Not usually	Many leases require carpet or acoustic underlay to limit noise to the flat below
Moving a kitchen or bathroom	Usually needed	Yes for new drainage and electrics near a bath or shower	New pipe runs may cross joists or the floor below
Replacing windows	Usually needed; windows often belong to the freeholder	Yes, unless a registered installer self-certifies	Conservation areas and listed buildings add planning controls
New boiler, flue or heating changes	Often needed for a new flue through an outside wall	Yes, unless a registered installer self-certifies	Gas work must be done by a Gas Safe registered engineer

Building regulations still apply

Lease consent does not replace building regulations. GOV.UK lists, among others, replacing fuse boxes, installing a bathroom with new plumbing, changing electrics near a bath or shower, and replacing windows as work that may need approval, unless you use an installer registered with a competent person scheme. In a flat, opening up a kitchen into the hall can also change how you escape in a fire, which building control will look at.

In a higher-risk building (at least 18 metres or seven storeys, with at least two homes), most building work needs approval from the Building Safety Regulator before it starts. GOV.UK guidance updated on 1 October 2026 says exempt work, such as replacing a bath, toilet or basin, does not, but work that changes the internal layout of a flat does.

Managing agents and the rest of the building

In many London blocks the managing agent is your first contact. Ask for the application form, the fee list, any building rules on working hours, lift and stair protection and waste, and whether a deposit is held against damage to common parts. The floors and walls you share with neighbours can be party structures under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, so cutting into them may need notices as well as the landlord's consent.

What to check before you exchange

GOV.UK's guide to buying a home tells leasehold buyers to ask their legal representative about the terms of the lease, ground rent and planned major works. If you plan works, add these questions for your conveyancer:

• What does the alterations clause say, and is structural work forbidden outright?
• Has the seller made alterations, and is there a licence and building regulations sign-off for each one?
• Does the current layout match the lease plan?
• Does the lease restrict hard floors, or require carpet and underlay?
• Who owns and repairs the windows, and are major works such as window replacement planned?
• What are the managing agent's fees and process for alteration applications?

You cannot apply for consent until you are the leaseholder, but you can ask the managing agent whether the landlord has a published alterations policy. Take legal advice on your own lease; this guide cannot tell you what yours allows.

How Alstruct helps

Our pre-purchase advice gives you a written, itemised budget for the works you plan before you exchange, from £500 + VAT, with flats with complex leases quoted in advance. We price the works and flag what is likely to need structural design, building control or the landlord's consent, so your conveyancer can check the lease against a real scheme. We do not value the property or give legal advice. See also our renovation and structural works services.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

• legislation.gov.uk: Landlord and Tenant Act 1927, section 19
• legislation.gov.uk: Landlord and Tenant Act 1988, section 1
• legislation.gov.uk: Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002, Schedule 11 (administration charges)
• legislation.gov.uk: Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024
• legislation.gov.uk: Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 (Commencement No. 4 and Saving Provision) (England) Regulations 2026
• LEASE: consent to alterations and improvements in a leasehold property, what charges can be justified
• LEASE: leasehold reform, abolition of the two-year rule
• GOV.UK: building regulations approval
• GOV.UK: building control approval for higher-risk buildings
• GOV.UK: how to buy a home

This guide is general information, checked against the sources above on 13 November 2026. It is not legal or survey advice: ask your conveyancer and surveyor about your own purchase.