Hi,

You may find the following guide useful for extending on your property.

https://www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200130/common_projects/17/extensions/10

Do also consult your local planning authority for clarification on limitations you may have in terms of extensions and exterior features.

In terms of interior alterations, do ensure you consult an architect or building professional so that your project is guaranteed viability.

Hi Kamila,

One idea would be to extend along the side of the existing rear extension with a glazed roof, you could open the kitchen in to open plan kitchen / dining area and have a lounge / sitting room at the rear to take in the garden. The glazed roof would allow light to be maintained if not improved in to the existing layout. But, as the architects above stated, constraints such as condition of the building, if the building is listed or in a conservation area will have repercussions on your ambition and options. It is important to get professionals on board early on to provide robust advice on feasibility, structure and elements such as party wall matters. Price wise I would start off with £1500 per square metre plus fixtures and fittings to give you a ball park figure.

Hope that helps!

Depending on your drainage - I might consider moving everything about with this type of thing in mind. It brings the bathroom nearer to the bedrooms and then keeps kitchen / living at the end - You can probably improve on the kitchen too, but I ran out of room on the plan - you'll get the idea.

Do you own, or co-own the freehold of the flat? Doing major work as a leaseholder can be fraught with complications and extra costs.

OK well that makes things a bit easier. But yes you would still strictly speaking be a leaseholder (even if you would be half your own freeholder). Don't know if it is possible to to check if your future co-freeholder is happy for you to extend?

Is there a declaration of trust or similar that governs the freehold? - that, and / or the leases, might have clauses in that cover permission to alter?

Finally flats have no permitted development, so you will have to apply for planning permission and councils generally will not give as much as you would get under PD, so might also be worth looking what similar properties in the area have been allowed to do?

Hi, Here's my thoughts on this. If you are willing to sacrifice natural light in the bathroom then you can simply move the bathroom / utility into the location of the reception room, creating a corridor alongside these rooms to gain access to a new open plan kitchen / dining / living room. This could have outlook to the garden on two sides of the room. This should avoid many of the potential issues already highlighted and as you wouldn't be extending it would be cheaper too. This may mean you can afford to spend more on a high quality kitchen / bathroom fit-out if you wish. Often the simplest solution is the best. :-)

Do all correct me if i'm wrong, but regardless of whether or not you own a portion of the freehold, you would have to go through planning for any sized extension as there's no such thing as permitted development on a Leasehold flat. Anything else is probably covered just by building control.

MATB yes that's right (as I mentioned in last par of my post ;-) ), and councils tend to be stingy with what they allow. Not at all wanting to be a wet blanket kamila_m31 - it's just always better to go into these things with your eyes open, as I'm sure you are.

kamila you you should be able to check easily in the planning section of the borough council website: just look up the street name and all the planning applications - successful and unsuccessful - that have been submitted going back 10 or 20 years will be there, with the architectural plans and everything. You should be able to see everything that has been done in that street and surrounding streets. Very handy for this sort of thing.

It was not clear if you share the front door also if your bedroom led out to shared space and in the new roof if that the way you go

VELUX can help with the light.

In answer to your question above about the internals:- You would preferably consult a structural engineer who will be able to let you know what can and can't be moved / amended - he would probably prefer to have access to the upstairs flat at some point and the roof to move on to the next step - If you require structural alterations which involve RSJ's, he could do the calculations for you. You would also then need an architect to drawer up plans.

If you stay within the confines of the original building - All alterations involving the internal walls , electrics, plumbing, drains etc usually go through Building Control at the local Council and or your Water Company.

New building goes through planning - all the associated electrics, plumbing etc as above goes through Building Control too.

You can find building firms which will do everything for you if you're not comfortable doing it yourself, but of course you pay a premium.

Will be interested to see how you get on. - good luck!