Making improvements or alterations to your leasehold property

What to do if you'd like to make alterations or improvements to your leasehold property:

Whilst we’ve tried to include as much information as possible, our webpages might not cover everything. If you’d like to speak with us about your lease, please get in touch. We’re here to help.

Please note that this is just a guide and doesn’t replace your lease.

Obtaining consent before making improvements or alterations to your home

If you're a leaseholder or freeholder of a property originally owned by Be One Homes or Bolton Council, you must obtain consent from us before making any alterations.

If you’ve already started or completed alteration work without applying for our consent, you’ll need to apply for retrospective consent.

You must complete an application form and receive written consent from us before you make any arrangements for work to begin.

Your lease or transfer requires that permission is granted before you carry out any alterations or improvements. Some leases differ, but generally this includes works affecting:

But I own my property - why do I need written permission?

Permission for alterations and improvements forms part of your lease agreement or transfer.

You’ll need to seek written permission before making any alterations or improvements because:

If you’d like to carry out alterations or improvement works to your home, you must apply for our consent and provide details of the proposed works.

Consent may be granted subject to conditions, such as obtaining planning permission and/or appropriate buildings regulations consent.

We don’t need to know about minor work such as decorating.

How do I apply for permission to make alterations or improvements?

You'll need to complete an application form and provide details of the proposed works.

Some works will require a surveyor to visit your home. If this is the case, an appointment will be arranged.

We’ll provide a reason if permission is refused. If you go ahead with work after we’ve refused permission, you’ll be breaking the terms and conditions of your lease, and we may apply for the works to be removed at your cost.

If you do something without permission, we have the right to put things back as they were and recover the costs.

Do I need to pay a fee for permissions?

There is a fee payable for permissions. Once the application form is received, an invoice will be raised.

The fees for permissions are as follows:

Which types of improvements are likely to be refused permission?

All applications for improvements are assessed on their individual merit — however, we won't permit the following improvements or alterations:

Alterations that adversely affect your neighbours, their property, or our property.
Alterations that affect any part of the building which is not designated as part of your leasehold agreement.
Alterations that affect the structure of the building.
Alterations that affect the use of communal areas or facilities.
Loft conversions (Flats)
Window replacements (Flats) – case by case basis*

*Flat windows are deemed to be part of the building’s structure and so they are our responsibility to maintain or replace. This means that there’s no obligation for us to accept any request for a window renewal.

Which works do I need to tell my neighbours about?

You must tell your neighbours if you want to:

Examples of this type of work include:

You can:

If you’d like further information on Party Walls and building works to your leasehold property, please get in touch.

If you’d like to complete work on one of your walls that adjoins a Be One Homes property, please send a Party Wall Notice to leaseholdmanagement@beonehomes.com – detailing all works to be completed.

What is a Party Wall, and when do I need a Party Wall Notice?

You must tell your neighbour(s) if you want to carry out any building work near or on your shared property boundary, or 'Party Wall', in England and Wales.

Party Walls stand on the land of two or more owners and either:

Walls on one owner’s land used by other owners (two or more) to separate their buildings are also classed as Party Walls.

Whether you’re building an extension or converting your loft, if you’re undergoing a substantial renovation and have neighbours, it’s likely you’ll need to consider the Party Wall Act 1996. It provides a framework for preventing and resolving disputes between neighbours regarding Party Walls, boundary walls, and excavations near adjoining buildings.

A Party Wall Notice is a formal document that you must serve to your neighbour(s) before starting certain types of work that might affect these shared walls, boundaries, or structures.

The notice informs the adjoining owners about the planned work and provides them with an opportunity to agree or raise concerns. If the neighbours don’t agree, the Party Wall Act provides a framework for resolving the dispute.

If your neighbour lives in a Be One Homes property, you must serve a Party Wall Notice to Be One Homes – however, we’d recommend you also inform your neighbour of any proposed works. If your neighbour is a private owner, please contact them directly.

You must tell us (Be One Homes) if you want to:

You must give notice to us between two months and a year before you plan to start building works.

Once you’ve given notice, we can:

*You can tap here for more information on the dispute resolution process on the gov.uk website.

We must let you know in writing within 14 days if we consent to your notice, and you must do the same with any counter notice. A counter notice must be served within a month of the first notice.

You can:

If you’d like further information on Party Walls and building works to your leasehold property, please get in touch.

What do I need to do before completing works to my chimney?

Before arranging any works to your chimney, you must complete an owner's permission application form and serve a Party Wall Notice to us (Be One Homes).

You’ll need to pay a fee for permissions. For more information on fees for permissions, please tap the ‘Do I need to pay a fee for permissions?’ tab above.

We recommend that you speak to your neighbour(s) with regards to any works you’ve planned – but please note that we (Be One Homes) will give or refuse any permissions requests.

Works to your flue, chimney, and soil or vent pipes:

Before starting any works, please check whether you need planning permission or building control approval.

Fitting, altering, or replacing a flue, chimney, or soil and vent pipe will normally be permitted (not requiring planning consent) provided certain rules and conditions are met. However, it’s likely that building control approval will be needed, especially if you wish to remove the chimney.

Permission will not be granted if:

Provisional consent will be granted once the fee is paid, the application form is completed, and the Party Wall Notice is served. Full permission won’t be granted until all requested documentation is provided.

Lack of full permission is a breach of your lease/conveyance/transfer document and can affect the future sale of your property.

You can:

What do I need to do before installing a driveway or dropped kerb?

Installing a driveway or dropped kerb:

One of the main reasons for this legislation is that the conversion of gardens to driveways in urban areas has increased the amount of water that goes into the storm drains when it rains. This can result in increased flooding.

Under these regulations, planning permission isn’t required if you’re creating a driveway from a semi-permeable or permeable material, or if the water is directed to a lawn, border, or Soakaway to drain naturally. This is to make sure that rainwater slowly seeps into the road drainage system, rather than running straight into the drainage system which can cause flooding.

Which surfaces are considered acceptable?

The type of permeable surfaces that are acceptable include gravel, permeable block paving, and porous concrete and asphalt.

Contact your local council's Highways Department:

It’s likely that to access your driveway, you’ll have to cross a pavement or verge that belongs to your local council. To cross this land, you’ll need permission from your local council.

The council will also require that the kerb be dropped to road level so that it isn’t damaged when you drive your car over it.

Do I need permission from Be One Homes?

Our permission is required if you need to cross our land to access your property. In most of these instances, permission is refused — which is why it’s best to contact us to check land ownership.

For more information, please get in touch using the contact details at the bottom of this page.

Speak with us about your lease:

You can call us on 01204 328000 or email leaseholdmanagement@beonehomes.com. You can also write to us at:

Leasehold Management,
98 Waters Meeting Road,
Bolton,
BL1 8SW.

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Making improvements or alterations to your leasehold property

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What to do if you'd like to make alterations or improvements to your leasehold property:

Obtaining consent before making improvements or alterations to your home

If you're a leaseholder or freeholder of a property originally owned by Be One Homes or Bolton Council, you must obtain consent from us before making any alterations.

But I own my property - why do I need written permission?

Permission for alterations and improvements forms part of your lease agreement or transfer.

How do I apply for permission to make alterations or improvements?

You'll need to complete an application form and provide details of the proposed works.

Do I need to pay a fee for permissions?

There is a fee payable for permissions. Once the application form is received, an invoice will be raised.

Which types of improvements are likely to be refused permission?

All applications for improvements are assessed on their individual merit — however, we won't permit the following improvements or alterations:

Which works do I need to tell my neighbours about?

You must tell your neighbours if you want to:

What is a Party Wall, and when do I need a Party Wall Notice?

You must tell your neighbour(s) if you want to carry out any building work near or on your shared property boundary, or 'Party Wall', in England and Wales.

What do I need to do before completing works to my chimney?

Before arranging any works to your chimney, you must complete an owner's permission application form and serve a Party Wall Notice to us (Be One Homes).

Works to your flue, chimney, and soil or vent pipes:

What do I need to do before installing a driveway or dropped kerb?

Installing a driveway or dropped kerb:

Which surfaces are considered acceptable?

Contact your local council's Highways Department:

Do I need permission from Be One Homes?

Get more information on your lease:

Making improvements or alterations to your leasehold property

Making changes to your lease

Major works to your building (leaseholders)

Leaseholder rights and responsibilities

Leasehold repairs

Ground rent and service charges for leaseholders

Fees for leaseholders and Shared Ownership owners

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