Apartment Attic Conversion

blueandgreen

Hi, I am exploring the possibilty of converting the attic of my 1 bed duplex apartment. Having consulted a number of independent sources, I have determined that it is structurally feasible. The major problem that I have identified concerns the terms of my lease which state that I am not the owner of:

"the roof, the roof space, the exterior walls of the aprtment, all structural walls and columns", etc.

I was wondering what my options might be. Could I renogotiate the lease terms? Are there any other possibilities? S

muffler

As this has more to do with your lease rather than the physical aspect of converting your attic I'll move this to the Accommodation & Property forum where the guys there should be able to offer a bit of advice.

Paulw

No, you can't renegotiate your Lease.

The fact is, you don't own the attic, you only have exclusive use of it.

However, if you write to the directors of your management company, they may grant you permission to convert your attic.

I know that in our development, I (as director) received a few such requests, and (in general) we granted them. I floored a large part of my own attic space, for storage.

But, make sure that you get full written confirmation from the management company before you do anything.

It would be highly unlikely that you can get permission to put in any skylights or such, mostly because it would have an impact on building insurance, building planning permission, and other knock on effects.

arse..biscuits

Hi, I converted the attic above my apartment. Got permission from the management company first. We needed an architect to certify all the work but that was it.

Really happy with it, just put a bed up today and gonna spend our first night up here tonight

So, talk to your management company is my advice.

blueandgreen

thanks for the responses... Would you care to provide details on your conversion? Floor area, Velux windows and cost. Any recommendations on attic conversion companies?

markpb

arse..biscuits wrote: »

We needed an architect to certify all the work but that was it.

Whatever about anything else, you'll almost definitely need to get the new plans fire certified before you do the work to make sure that your changes don't invalidate the existing fire cert.