Noise pollution from enlarged upstairs flat

[enid]

Hope I am in the right place. My father lives in a leasehold flat with poor (non-existent) sound insulation. The leaseholder in the flat abve has enlarged his flat,doubling the number of rooms by going up into the loft space, installing stairs which act like a sounding board, making Dad's ceiling reverberate. All without permission from the Freeholder. Leaseholder has now got the works 'regularised', the Freeholder having taken no notice of our complaints. Does anyone know if the works done would count as a material change of use? No soundproofing or fire proofing has been put in. Thank you.

[pdk]

Have a look at the original planning permission - this might have described his flat as a '1 bedroom flat' and if this is now a 3 bedroom flat then in my view planning permission would be needed... (which could have have had something like a soundproofing condition in. He has 4 years after which he gets automatic consent... if within this period speak to planning and also to enforcement sections about this. Also he would have needed building regs approval for the works and he could be subject to seperate action by the council... but I know less about this area....

If an increase in rooms has amenity implications then the council might take action but its up to them...

PETER


NOTE: Peter Kyte BSC (Hons) DipTP MRTPI CGeog FRGS is an official LandlordZONE Topic Expert… For more information on Peter D Kyte Associates and Enabling Projects please see the websites at http://www.enablinguk.com and http://www.development-seekers.com. Any advice given by Peter Kyte in this Forum is of a general nature only and should not be taken to be a final and binding planning opinion. Based on any initial advice given you are strongly advised to seek a further professional opinion, which may involve a site visit and a detailed analysis of the issues... For information on the sort of work Peter undertakes please see TRACK RECORD (http://www.enablinguk.com/track.html), WORKING WITH INVESTORS (http://www.enablinguk.com/ur-property-investors-planning.html), and PROJECT TYPES (http://www.enablinguk.com/planning-project-permission-appeal-UK.html).... Please also see our range of URBAN PHOTOGRAPHS (http://www.fotog.info).

[jeffrey]

Hope I am in the right place. My father lives in a leasehold flat with poor (non-existent) sound insulation. The leaseholder in the flat abve has enlarged his flat,doubling the number of rooms by going up into the loft space, installing stairs which act like a sounding board, making Dad's ceiling reverberate. All without permission from the Freeholder. Leaseholder has now got the works 'regularised', the Freeholder having taken no notice of our complaints. Does anyone know if the works done would count as a material change of use? No soundproofing or fire proofing has been put in. Thank you.
Did leaseholder act in breach of covenant in his lease?
Does each lease oblige the freeholder to enforce at behest of a complaining leaseholder [you]?

[Sig]

Hope I am in the right place. My father lives in a leasehold flat with poor (non-existent) sound insulation. The leaseholder in the flat abve has enlarged his flat,doubling the number of rooms by going up into the loft space, installing stairs which act like a sounding board, making Dad's ceiling reverberate. All without permission from the Freeholder. Leaseholder has now got the works 'regularised', the Freeholder having taken no notice of our complaints. Does anyone know if the works done would count as a material change of use? No soundproofing or fire proofing has been put in. Thank you.
Enid

The planning permission requires the notification (and usually approval) of the freeholder of the land and premises. If this was not gained then there is good case first off to have the planning null and void.

Check to see if he has planning permission. Simply go down to the council offices with the address with some photo's and the address and explain to the duty planning officer, (or you can check some councils websites for planning permission on property search).

After that as has been said he would have needed building regulations approval.

If none of that has been done he is likely to face a hefty fine by enforcement, have it all ripped out (if he doesn't do it himself) and be in breach of his terms as leaseholder which can have him evicted from the premises.

[jeffrey]

Enid

The planning permission requires the notification (and usually approval) of the freeholder of the land and premises. If this was not gained then there is good case first off to have the planning null and void.

Check to see if he has planning permission. Simply go down to the council offices with the address with some photo's and the address and explain to the duty planning officer, (or you can check some councils websites for planning permission on property search).

After that as has been said he would have needed building regulations approval.

If none of that has been done he is likely to face a hefty fine by enforcement, have it all ripped out (if he doesn't do it himself) and be in breach of his terms as leaseholder which can have him evicted from the premises.
1. Failure to obtain the freehold reversioner's prior approval (before T seeks Planning Permission) does NOT have any impact on the validity of a Planning Permission. TCPA is entirely statutory, and has no direct bearing on private-law rights such as contained in a lease.
2. Such failure may, however, place T in breach of a leasehold covenant.
3. The final part of Sig's post is also a little misleading. True, L may be entitled to demand that T rip-out unauthorised work; but virtually never would a breach of such covenant lead to a lease being forfeited and T evicted.

[Sig]

Jeffrey

First off this is just simple advice given freely as to the best of my knowledge.

As you may know this is at the bottom of all the declarations of planning applications.

Under the provisions of the Planning Acts, if any person issues a certificate which
purports to comply with the requirements of this Act and contains a statement which he
knows to be false or misleading in a material particular, he shall be guilty of an offence.
Please ensure that the information you have provided is accurate.

Enid

In simple life jeffrey is right no one ever usually carries out what could be.

[jeffrey]

As you may know this is at the bottom of all the declarations of planning applications.

Under the provisions of the Planning Acts, if any person issues a certificate which
purports to comply with the requirements of this Act and contains a statement which he
knows to be false or misleading in a material particular, he shall be guilty of an offence.
Please ensure that the information you have provided is accurate.

Yes, this makes falsity/misleadingness a criminal offence- but that's all.

[enid]

thanks for the responses. The leaseholder has gone up into the loft space to create 2 new bedrooms, thus turning it into a 4 bedroom flat. The stairs which lead up to the new level in the loft rest upon the existing floor (dad's ceiling), and they act like a soundboard to the flat underneath. Planning permission was not needed, but the work was done on the quiet, without the required building regs. The LA (freeholders) were interestd to hear about what he had done, and they are fully aware of noise transmission issues in these properties, but then gave retrospective permission once the leaseholder made one or two changes ...installing smoke alarms etc. The flat has been enlarged to such an extent that it will take a large family, with no requirements on the leaseholder to take noise prevention measures. The LA say that no work has been done on the 'interface' between Dad's flat and the one above, and that there has been no material change of use. Dad's flat is now uninhabitable due to the noise problems.