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A Landlord Consent to Alterations Letter is a formal agreement between a landlord and a tenant (or ‘contract holder' in Wales). An Alterations Letter gives the tenant permission to make minor changes to the property they’re renting, subject to the Letter’s terms. Landlord Consent to Alterations Letters also asks that the tenant confirm receipt of the Letter by returning a signed copy to the landlord.
For use in England and Wales only.
Use this Landlord Consent to Alterations Letter:
if you are a residential landlord
if your tenant has asked for your permission to make alterations to the rental property and you consent to these alterations
to set out the terms of your consent
for alterations to properties in England and Wales only
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Dear ,
Re: Proposed property alterations
have received your request to alter the property. writing you to consent to your proposed alterations.
consent to the alterations is conditional on the following terms:
Before any of the proposed alterations are carried out to the property, you must obtain all necessary permissions (including planning permissions). You must provide copies of such permissions to.
The alterations to the property must be carried out in accordance with. For reference, the drawings and specifications have been attached.
All alterations must be carried out using good quality and suitable materials, which are to reasonable satisfaction.
The alterations must be carried out to a high standard of workmanship, which is to reasonable satisfaction.
You must allow and any legal advisers or surveyors access to inspect the alteration works at reasonable times. will give you at least 24 hours' notice before any such visit.
You must pay any reasonable expenses incurred by advisers or surveyors in connection with your proposed alterations.
Please countersign below to confirm your agreement to this letter and the terms contained within.
Yours sincerely,
The receipt of the letter dated is acknowledged and all of its terms are agreed to.
| Signed: | |
| Name: | |
| Dated: |
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This Landlord Consent to Alterations Letter template covers:
the landlord’s consent to the proposed alterations
the tenant’s obligation to obtain other permissions (eg planning permission) before making alterations
the drawings and specifications for the proposed alterations
the required quality and suitability of materials for the alterations
when the landlord (or their legal advisers or surveyors) can inspect the alterations
who must pay expenses in connection with the proposed alterations
You should use a Landlord Consent to Alterations Letter to formally record and communicate your consent if your tenant has requested to make changes to your property and you are happy for these changes to be made. This may be necessary as a tenant’s Tenancy agreement will usually prohibit them from making changes to the property unless the landlord gives them express permission to do so.
Moreover, a Landlord Consent to Alterations Letter will help avoid any future conflicts by setting out clear rules about the changes that tenants would like to make to their rented home.
This Landlord Consent to Alterations Letter is appropriate if the landlord:
has received a request to alter their property from their tenant, and
they have considered the tenant’s application for property alterations, and
they are happy with the proposed property alterations and have decided to give the tenant consent to proceed
The drawings and specifications of the alterations are a representation of the changes that the tenant wants to make to the property (eg architects’ drawings). The tenant may provide the drawings and specifications:
when they initially request the landlord’s permission to make the changes, or
later on in the process of gaining the landlord’s consent
Alternatively, the landlord may provide the drawings and specifications if the tenant requested a change be made but didn’t specify precisely how this should look. For example, the tenant may request that shelving be installed in the property but not how or where.
In all cases, the drawings and specifications should be attached to this Landlord Consent to Alterations Letter to act as a reference for the accepted alterations.
This Landlord Consent to Alterations Letter requires that all alterations to the property are made using good quality and suitable materials, which are to the landlord’s satisfaction.
Similarly, all alterations must be carried out to a high standard of workmanship, which is to the landlord’s satisfaction.
Generally, the tenant will pay for any alterations they wish to make unless the alterations are essential (eg if they must be made to ensure that the property is fit for human habitation or to repair the property). If the alterations are essential, the landlord must usually cover the cost of the alterations.
This Landlord Consent to Alterations Letter also requires that the tenant pays any reasonable expenses incurred by the landlord or the landlord’s advisers (eg lawyers) or surveyors in connection with the proposed alterations. For example:
costs associated with having a surveyor check the alteration plans and the work itself
any general administration charges
A licence to alter (also known as a ‘licence for alterations’) is a formal legal document that’s often required to allow leaseholders to make certain changes to their leasehold property.
A leasehold property is leased from the freehold owner (ie the person or business that owns the whole property and the land it is built on indefinitely). The owner of the leasehold owns their interest in the property, but not the land, for a fixed term (eg 10 years or 99 years). For more information, read Freehold and leasehold property.
A licence to alter sets out the conditions under which alterations can be made to leasehold property by the leaseholder, to help ensure that unexpected conflicts related to the work can be avoided. These documents are often required for long-term leaseholders (eg people that would day-to-day be considered to ‘own’ a property as they hold a leasehold of it for a long time, eg 50 years).
This Landlord Consent to Alterations Letter is not a licence to alter. If you require a licence to alter, Ask a lawyer for more information.
This Landlord Consent to Alterations Letter imposes a term requiring that the tenant removes the alterations and returns the property to its previous state at the end of the tenancy, if the landlord requests such by giving them notice before the end of the tenancy. The landlord may desire this if, for example, the alterations:
were intended to baby-proof the property (eg installing baby gates)
involved installing additional storage space (eg wall shelving) that’s not usually needed
If the landlord does not request that the tenant removes the alterations they will form part of the property and can remain after the tenancy ends.
Making your Landlord Consent to Alterations Letter online is simple. Just answer a few questions and Rocket Lawyer will build your document for you. When you have all the information about the alterations and the terms of your consent prepared in advance, creating your document is a quick and easy process.
You’ll need the following information:
The landlord and the tenant
What is the landlord’s name, address, and legal structure? If it’s a company, what’s its company number?
Who is the landlord’s signatory, if it’s a company or a partnership? This is the person who will sign the Letter on the company’s or partnership’s behalf.
What is the tenant’s name? If there are multiple, what are all of their names?
The property
What is the rental property’s address?
The alterations
Did the landlord or the tenant supply the drawings and specifications? If the tenant:
Were they provided with the initial request to perform alterations or at a later date?
On which date were they provided?
On which date will this Landlord Consent to Alterations Letter be sent?
Landlord Consent to Alterations Letters set out a landlord’s consent for their tenant to carry out alterations and the terms of this consent. To do this, this Landlord Consent to Alterations Letter template includes sections covering:
Heading the Letter
The Letter starts with the tenant’s and landlord’s names and addresses and the Letter’s date, set out in traditional letter format.
Re: proposed property alterations
The Letter opens by identifying its purpose and setting out that, in delivering a signed copy of this Letter, the landlord is consenting to the tenant’s proposed alterations.
My consent to alterations is conditional on the following…
Next, the Letter sets out the terms that the tenant must abide by as conditions of the landlord’s granting their consent. For example:
the tenant must obtain any necessary permissions (eg planning permission) before carrying out work and must provide copies of permissions to the landlord
the alterations must be in accordance with the drawings and specifications
the alterations must be carried out to a high standard using good quality and suitable materials
the landlord, their surveyors, and/or their solicitors must be allowed access to the property to inspect the alterations, if the timing is reasonable and 24 hours’ notice is given
the tenant must pay any reasonable costs incurred by the landlord in relation to the alterations
the alterations must be removed at the end of the tenant’s tenancy, if the landlord requests so
Please countersign below…
This statement asks the tenant to sign the Letter once they’ve received it, to confirm their receipt of it and that they agree with the terms of the landlord’s consent.
This is followed by spaces for the landlord and the tenant (or all tenants, if there are multiple) to sign the Letter.
If you want your Landlord Consent to Alterations Letter to include further or more detailed provisions, you can edit your document. However, if you do this, you may want a lawyer to review the document for you (or to make the changes for you) to make sure that your modified Landlord Consent to Alterations Letter complies with all relevant laws and meets your specific needs. Use Rocket Lawyer’s Ask a lawyer service for assistance.
Make sure you understand the extent of the proposed alterations
Your tenant may propose alterations that seem minor at first glance, but which may actually involve significant alterations being made to your property. For example, they may want to add shelving in a way that involves altering walls, or they may want to decorate in a way that exposes aspects of the property, eg flooring, to potential damage.
Communicate with your tenant to understand the details and extent of their proposed works before you consent. Once you’ve consented, it will be much harder to have the tenant change the works they want to carry out. If you want to know more about particular works, you could consider consulting a surveyor using The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICs’) Find a Surveyor service.
Understand when to seek advice from a lawyer
In some circumstances, it’s good practice to Ask a lawyer for advice to ensure that you’re complying with the law and that you are well protected from risks. You should consider asking for advice if:
the document doesn't meet your needs or cover what you want
your tenant does not agree to or comply with the terms of this Letter
your tenant is a commercial tenant
you are based in Scotland
