If you own a leasehold flat, check your lease before you book any air conditioning work. In many leases you will need your freeholder's written consent first, and that applies to fitting an outdoor unit, drilling through walls or running pipework through shared areas. Planning permission is a separate matter and does not replace that consent. The steps below take you from reading the lease to a signed licence, so the installation can go ahead without trouble.
TL;DR
- Many leases require written landlord or freeholder permission for alterations. Get it before work starts, not after.
- Planning permission and building regulations do not give you the right to alter a leasehold property without your landlord's consent.
- Send a dated written request with a clear description, photos or plans, a contractor quote and insurance details.
- A freeholder cannot always refuse on a whim, but it can set conditions and charge reasonable costs.
- A system with no outdoor unit on the façade is often the easiest design to get approved.
Table of Contents
- Why a leaseholder needs consent at all
- Step 1: read your lease for the alterations clause
- Freeholder consent is not planning permission
- Step 2: ask in writing, and ask properly
- Can a freeholder say no?
- What happens if you install without consent
- Designs that tend to get approved
- A checklist before you book the installation
- Our perspective
- Ready to plan your installation?
- FAQ
- Sources
Why a leaseholder needs consent at all
When you buy a leasehold flat you own the right to occupy it for a set term. You do not own the whole building. The lease sets out what is yours, what belongs to the freeholder and what you may change. The Leasehold Advisory Service explains that, depending on your lease, you may need your landlord's permission before making alterations, and that if the lease asks for written permission it must be obtained before the work begins.
Air conditioning touches several things a lease commonly protects:
- The exterior. An outdoor condenser on a wall, balcony or roof changes the look of the building and uses a part of it that is often not part of your demise.
- The structure. Core drilling through an external wall for refrigerant pipes and a condensate drain affects the fabric of the building.
- Shared services and common parts. Cable runs, pipe routes and any fixing to communal areas usually need explicit approval.
- Neighbours. Noise and vibration are the usual complaints, and a freeholder or management company will think about them.
Some leases ban alterations outright. Others allow them only with written consent. Others require a formal licence to alter. Which one applies to you decides everything, so start with your own lease.
Step 1: read your lease for the alterations clause
Find the covenants section, usually the tenant's obligations. According to the Leasehold Advisory Service, you should look for whether the lease bans alterations, permits them with written consent or requires a licence, and for any wording about drilling, fixing equipment to the exterior or common parts, or altering shared structures and services.
Three things are worth noting as you read:
- What your demise includes. The lease says where your property starts and ends. A condenser bracketed to an outside wall is usually outside it.
- How consent must be requested. Some leases specify a form, a fee or a notice period.
- Whether consent is a one-off. The same guidance notes that you may need written permission each time you make an alteration, so permission given to a previous owner may not carry over to you.
Some councils publish the standard terms for their own leaseholders. Haringey's policy, for example, says that under clause 4(13) of its standard lease the leaseholder must obtain the landlord's written consent, called a licence, for alterations inside the home or to the exterior of the building. Your wording will differ, but the principle is common.
If the lease is hard to follow, a solicitor who handles leasehold matters can read the clause for you. That is far cheaper than dealing with a dispute later.
Freeholder consent is not planning permission
These are two separate permissions, and having one does not give you the other.
Planning. In England, fitting air conditioning to a home may be permitted development when the limits and conditions in the legislation are met. The same Planning Portal page says permission will be required in a protected area such as a conservation area, and consent will be required for a listed building. It also says the installation must comply with building regulations. Ideal Home makes the same point about the General Permitted Development Order 2015, with further limits for listed buildings and designated zones. Our own guides on permitted development for air conditioning and home aircon regulations in the UK cover those rules in more detail.
Your lease. This is a private contractual matter between you and your landlord. Haringey's policy states that planning permission or Building Control certification does not give leaseholders the right to carry out alterations without first obtaining the landlord's consent.
So a unit can be perfectly acceptable to the council and still breach your lease. You may need to clear both hurdles.
Devon and Cornwall: listed buildings and conservation areas
Devon and Cornwall have a lot of period property, from Georgian terraces in Exeter to converted seafront buildings and harbour-town flats. Many of these sit in conservation areas or are listed, and that matters twice. The planning rules tighten for the outside of the building, and a freeholder of a period block is usually cautious about anything fixed to the façade.
The practical consequences:
- Check with your local planning authority whether your address is listed or in a conservation area before you choose a system. Rules are set nationally, but the designations are local, so each council can tell you what applies to your street.
- For a listed building, consent is needed whatever the lease says. Our guide to air conditioning in UK listed buildings explains how that works.
- A unit on a wall facing the street is the hardest to approve. A rear wall, a discreet courtyard or a design with no external unit improves your chances with both the council and the freeholder.
Step 2: ask in writing, and ask properly
Do not rely on a chat with the porter or a phone call with the managing agent. The Leasehold Advisory Service recommends a dated written request, keeping copies, and never relying on verbal consent.
A strong application normally includes:
| What to include | Why it helps |
|---|---|
| A clear description of the work | Shows exactly what will change: indoor units, pipe routes, condenser position |
| Plans, photos or a marked-up elevation | Lets the freeholder see where equipment goes and how visible it is |
| The contractor's quotation | Shows the work is scoped and who will do it |
| Insurance details | Reassures the freeholder about damage to the building |
| Proof of building regulations compliance or planning permission, where relevant | Shows the work is lawful in its own right |
| A proposed timetable and your contact details | Makes it easy to approve and to coordinate access |
That list follows the Leasehold Advisory Service's guidance. A good installer will provide the technical parts for you. At Frost, our surveys cover unit positions, pipe routes and drainage, and we can supply a written description and quotation you can attach to the request.
What the process usually looks like
The format varies by landlord, but a typical sequence is:
- You send the request, with the supporting documents, to the freeholder or managing agent.
- They review it against the lease and may ask for more detail or a revised position for the unit.
- If it is acceptable in principle, their solicitors draw up the document. One London estate's handbook says its solicitors will be instructed to draft a Licence for Alterations, which once completed is the formal consent to carry out the works.
- You sign, and the work can be scheduled.
The same handbook says that, unless the lease provides otherwise, no works should start until the landlord's formal consent is in place, and that equipment outside your demise, such as air conditioning plant, needs full details and the relevant application form.
Budget for costs. Haringey's policy says a landlord may require payment of a reasonable sum, including legal or other expenses properly incurred, before granting a licence. If you are weighing up what leasehold ownership costs in general, this overview of ground rent, service charges and lease extension costs puts the licence fee in context.
Can a freeholder say no?
Sometimes, but not always without good reason. It depends on how your lease is worded.
- Absolute ban. If the lease flatly forbids alterations, the freeholder has no duty to agree.
- Qualified covenant. If alterations need the landlord's consent, you must obtain it before starting. Where the covenant says consent is not to be unreasonably withheld, RFB Legal explains that the landlord must have proper and reasonable grounds for refusal.
Haringey's policy, which refers to section 19(2) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1927, says consent cannot be unreasonably withheld but that the landlord keeps considerable discretion. It lists the grounds on which consent may be withheld: the work affects building safety, fails to meet approved product specifications, is likely to cause nuisance to neighbours, or conflicts with the lease.
Those are the points to answer in your application:
- Safety and structure. Use a qualified installer, describe the fixings and wall penetrations, and show that they are sealed and made good.
- Neighbour nuisance. Choose a quiet system and a sensible position. Our guide to noise complaints and air conditioner regulations explains what to plan for.
- Appearance. Offer the least visible location, or a design with no outdoor unit.
If you are refused, ask for the reasons in writing. Then either change the proposal to address them or take advice from a leasehold solicitor or the Leasehold Advisory Service before deciding what to do next. Do not go ahead anyway.
What happens if you install without consent
The risk is real, and it tends to show up at the worst moment: when you sell. Stonewater's leasehold handbook says that if you do not obtain written consent for works, it may affect any future sale of your property, and that retrospective consent may be requested where alterations have already been made. RFB Legal stresses that even where a landlord's discretion is limited by reasonableness, consent is generally still needed before works begin, and its absence creates legal risk.
In plain terms, a buyer's solicitor will ask whether alterations had permission. An air conditioning system with no licence can delay or complicate a sale, and getting retrospective approval costs more time and trouble than asking first.
Designs that tend to get approved
Freeholders worry most about what they can see and hear from outside. That is why many flat owners choose a layout that keeps the outside of the building untouched or barely changed.
- Systems without an outdoor unit. Our guide to air conditioning for flats without an outdoor unit sets out how these work and what they involve.
- Concealed or discreet condenser positions. A balcony, a rear elevation or a screened enclosure is easier to justify than a street-facing wall. Where a unit does go outside, outdoor unit placement rules are worth knowing.
- Slim, quiet indoor units. Design-led ranges such as the Daikin Emura and the Daikin Stylish look neat on a wall, which helps when the freeholder asks about the finish inside your own home too.
A checklist before you book the installation
- Read the alterations clause and any rules on exterior fixings and drilling.
- Ask your managing agent for the application form, if there is one.
- Check listed building and conservation area status with your council.
- Get a survey and written quotation that describe unit positions and pipe routes.
- Send a dated written request with photos or plans and insurance details.
- Wait for the signed licence or written consent.
- Keep a copy with your deeds for the day you sell.
Our perspective
Most of the calls we get from flat owners start the same way: they want to know whether we can fit it next week. Our answer is that we can often install within one to two days, but the paperwork should come first, and we are happy to help with it.
The installs that go smoothly are the ones where the owner has the licence in hand before we arrive. We do free surveys, so we can walk through the flat, agree where each unit and pipe run goes, and give you a written description and quotation that your freeholder or managing agent can actually assess. That saves a round of back and forth.
We design each system around the building. Our engineers are local, F-Gas certified and REFCOM registered, and we do not use subcontractors, so the person who surveys is the person who understands what you have promised the freeholder. We install Samsung, Mitsubishi, Toshiba and Daikin systems, so there is usually a model that meets a freeholder's concerns about noise, appearance and position.
If your freeholder is cautious, tell us early. A quiet system, a discreet location or a layout with no outdoor unit can turn a likely no into a yes.
James
Ready to plan your installation?
If you own a flat or house in Devon, Cornwall or the wider South West and want air conditioning, we can survey the property for free, advise on discreet unit positions and supply the written quotation your freeholder will want to see. Once consent is agreed we can often install within one to two days, and 0% finance is available. See our domestic installation service for how it works.
For a block that needs regular servicing after fitting, we also offer annual service contracts and maintenance.
FAQ
Do I always need my freeholder's permission for air conditioning in a leasehold flat?
Not always, but often. It depends on your lease: some require written consent for alterations, some ban them and some are silent. Read the alterations clause, especially anything on exterior fixings and drilling, and ask a leasehold solicitor if it is unclear.
Can I use planning permission instead of freeholder consent?
No. They are separate. Planning permission or building control approval does not give a leaseholder the right to alter the property without the landlord's consent, so you may need both.
Can the freeholder refuse or charge for consent?
If your lease says consent cannot be unreasonably withheld, the freeholder needs proper grounds to refuse, such as safety, nuisance to neighbours or a conflict with the lease. They may also ask for reasonable costs, including legal fees, before granting a licence.
What if I already installed air conditioning without consent?
Tell your freeholder or managing agent and ask about retrospective consent, ideally with advice from a leasehold solicitor. Unconsented works can affect a future sale, so it is better to regularise them than to wait for a buyer's solicitor to raise it.
Is a system with no outdoor unit easier to get approved?
Often it is, because the main objections concern the external appearance, noise and fixings to the building. You still need to check your lease, since internal works can need consent too.
Sources
- Alterations and home improvements, Leasehold Advisory Service
- Alterations Policy for Leaseholders, Haringey
- Tenants handbook and guide, Sorbon Estates
- Making changes without consent, RFB Legal
- Do I need planning permission to add air conditioning to my home, Planning Portal
- Do you need planning permission for fitted air conditioning, Ideal Home
- Leasehold Handbook, Stonewater
- Leasehold costs explained, Offer Smart