Castle Court Cardiff

Please check your obligations & ensure full compliance before you start work

Compliance with lease requirements, building regulations, planning regulations etc

Before starting any works to their flats, leaseholders need to ensure that their proposed works will fully comply with:

• 1. Lease requirements to obtain Landlord's prior written consent for alterations to flats, including alterations to walls, floors, windows, external vents, any works involving communal utility pipes or communal cables or work involving communal areas or other parts of the Landlord’s demised area.

Landlord consent is dealt with by the Managing Agents, therefore leaseholders whose works require Landlord consent should contact Cooke & Arkwright to obtain written consent before starting the works.

All external alterations to flats require Landlord consent, and many internal alterations also require Landlord consent.

When applying for Landlord consent for alterations, leaseholders should provide full details of their proposed works, including diagrams if necessary.

Depending on the nature of the proposed alterations, leaseholders should normally allow between two weeks and four weeks for their consent application to be dealt with, starting from the date on which they have provided Cooke & Arkwright with full details of their proposed works, including diagrams if necessary.

Applications for consent for structural alterations may take more than four weeks to deal with.

 

  • 2. Building regulations - please visit www.competentperson.co.uk for information relating to your obligations relating to electrical works at your flat
  • 3. Planning regulations - please be aware that Castle Court is in a conservation area and leaseholders should check with Cardiff Council whether planning permission is required for any externtal alterations - vents, windows etc before they commit themselves to any alterations. Cardiff Council adopted a planning policy some years ago not to consent to installation of UPVC windows along or facing the front elevation of Westgate Street.

 

  • 4. Health & Safety regulations

 

  • 5. Any other legal requirements

 

If leaseholders undertake alterations to their flats without complying with lease obligations to obtain Landlord consent, they should be aware that unsuitable alterations will not be granted Landlord consent. Leaseholders will then be liable not only for reinstatement costs but also the Landlord's reasonable cost of any necessary enforcement action to progress reinstatement.

Leaseholders should be aware when instructing contractors or attempting DIY that individual leaseholders are liable not only for reinstatement costs or repair costs but are also liable for Landlord's legal costs and surveying costs and any other costs if the Landlord has to take action against a leaseholder or their contractor for causing damage or disruption to other parts of the building, communal distribution pipes etc. Damage and disruption are not only relevant to unauthorised or unsuitable alterations but may occur if unsuitable working methods are used for approved works.

Individual leaseholders are fully liable for Landlord costs if vibrations etc from the leaseholder's contractor's works or the leaseholder's DIY efforts cause damage and disruption outside the leaseholder's individual demised area, irrespective of whether the works require prior consent or have been granted consent.

Leaseholders should not assume that if their proposed alteration looks the same as something outside another flat this will justify their own application for Landlord consent or any necessary consent from Building Control or the Local Planning Authority. Building regulations, planning restrictions and other factors change over time.

There are vents for individual boilers that were installed &/or consented to prior to Castle Court Freehold Limited acquiring the freehold in 2004, that would not have been consented to 2004 onwards.

There are specific restrictions on where boiler flues &/or vents can be sited, e.g. these must go through existing openings for previous flues / vents or through windows, not through original brickwork, - leaseholders need to contact Cooke & Arkwright to obtain written consent for their work before purchasing their new boiler or arranging work involving installing a new boiler flue / vent or repositioning a boiler flue / vent.

It is the leaseholder's responsibility to ensure full compliance with the requirements of Building regulations, Planning regulations and Health & Safety regulations applicable to boiler installations, boiler flues, boiler vents etc in addition to Castle Court Freehold Limited consent conditions - prior to purchasing a new boiler or designing the flat around the assumption that they can have consent for their chosen location for boiler, boiler vent etc.

Leaseholders should not assume that their choice of boiler will fit in their chosen location - if the proposed flue / vent location is not acceptable to Castle Court Freehold Limited, then Landlord consent cannot be granted and leaseholders may need to replan their flat layout at an early stage.

It would be a bit late to discover that there is a problem when kitchen cupboards etc have already been fitted and the plumber/engineer is on site ready to instal the new boiler into the leaseholder's preferred location.

Castle Court Freehold Limited does not consent to external vents for tumble dryers as these would not be necessary alterations; there are plenty of tumble dryers available that are fitted with water boxes rather than requiring external ventilation. Therefore leaseholders choosing to install tumble dryers in their flats should choose a model that will not require external ventilation.

Insurance and Health & Safety

Irrespective of whether consent is needed for alterations, leaseholders or their contractors need adequate public liability insurance and detailed Health & Safety procedures / risk assessments / method statements etc before a leaseholder or a contractor working for the leaseholder enters the Landord's demise to access any balconies, windows or any other external part of a flat – for maintenance, refurbishment, window cleaning or any other purpose.

If the leaseholder and their contractor are not adequately insured, it will be the leaseholder &/or the contractor who is personally liable in the event of any loss or claim - no liability will be accepted by Castle Court Freehold Limited or its Managing Agents or Insurers.

Contractors, including window cleaners, who are employed by Castle Court Freehold Limited or its Managing Agents are not appointed unless they have demonstrated to the Managing Agents that they are adequately insured and fully compliant with Health & Safety legislation etc.

Leaseholder planned works involving water

Any leaseholder who intends to do work to their flat involving water pipes, valves etc should contact Cooke & Arkwright's Property Management department (Tel: 029 20 346335) to clarify whether this will require a shutdown of hot &/or cold water or communal background heating units to other areas of Castle Court.

If a shutdown is required, Cooke & Arkwright's Property Management department will normally require at least four working days notice of the proposed works so that they can arrange the communal shutdown via the firm who maintain the communal water distribution pipes & valves and notify occupiers of affected flats.

 

Any delay with providing sufficient details to Cooke & Arkwright may delay the proposed water shutdown beyond the leaseholder's preferred date, and any inconvenience resulting from such a delay would be the responsibility of the leaseholder and not the responsibility of Cooke & Arkwright or Castle Court Freehold Limited.

 

 

Castle Court Freehold Limited. Registered Office: Castle Court Office, Castle Court, Westgate Street, Cardiff CF10 1DB
Registered as a company in England & Wales No. 05176305.