‘Unapproved alterations’ are alterations which were carried out in the past, without the flat owner at the time getting the necessary prior permissions from the Barbican Estate Office and/or the appropriate regulatory authorities.
If you own a flat which contains unapproved alterations, you need to do something about it, so that you can sell your flat in the future. The fact that unauthorised alterations were carried out by an earlier owner and your solicitors accepted it when you bought, doesn’t change a thing. Buyers, lenders, and their solicitors are much tougher on these issues than they were in the past. It can take months to get the necessary permissions, so don’t leave it until you are about to instruct the estate agents.
This is not a recommended solution.
Retrospective landlord’s consent
If works which required landlord’s consent have been carried out without consent, the Barbican Estate Office can require them to be reversed.
You should contact the Barbican Estate Office who will arrange for someone to inspect, and then discuss with you what is necessary in order for you to get a ‘retrospective consent’ – a written consent approving the works done in the past.
They may require you to undo some of the works if they don’t meet their standard requirements for permitted works. For example, they are likely to object to works which affect the operation of the building-wide ventilation system. They will definitely not approve any works which involve holes through the main walls (which belong to the estate, not to you).
Retrospective building regulation approval
Many types of works require building regulation approval – electrical and plumbing, for example.
The relevant authorities will want to inspect the works. If it involves something like plumbing or connections to services which are now hidden behind the wall, they may insist that you open up the wall so they can inspect the pipework or connections.
“Drop that non-compliant plastic piping and come quietly, Barbican resident.”
Retrospective Listed Building Consent
If works which required listed building consent have been carried out without consent, the City can require them to be reversed. There is no time limit. (It is also a criminal offence by the person who did the works illegally, but not a subsequent buyer). The relevant City department will want to inspect the works.
If the works are the type which require listed building consent, but are normally permitted, then hopefully they will just give you the necessary retrospective consent.
But there are many types of works which they would never approve, in which case you have to restore the premises to their previous configuration before they will confirm that you are no longer in breach of your legal obligations.
An indemnity policy
There are insurance policies you can take out to cover you and future owners against past failure to comply with requirements when works were carried out. There is a one-off premium of (usually) a few hundred pounds. A policy may not necessarily be available for every breach.
A peculiarity of such policies is that you cannot take one out once you have already told the City or the relevant regulatory authorities about the breach. And once you have taken the policy out, you must continue to keep quiet about the breach, or the policy is invalidated. So, you have to choose between taking a policy or applying for retrospective consent – you can’t do both.
Mortgage lenders may insist on a retrospective consent or they may accept an indemnity policy.
There are reasons why an indemnity policy may not satisfy buyers. An indemnity policy doesn’t really address the practical issue. A policy may cover any loss of value of the flat due to the City finding out about unauthorised building works and taking some action as a result. But the practical issue in a Barbican flat isn’t a loss of value so much as the hassle factor in having to expose pipework for inspection, or the buyers having to convince their buyers to accept the situation when they sell, or the fact that the City might create difficulties about future works until the old works are put right. A policy doesn’t really meet those issues. Buyers don’t want to take on a problem and be relying on claiming under a policy – they want the problem removed.