If you own the freehold of your building, you have the right to carry out building work on your property without needing consent from others. However, you'll still need to obtain planning permission from your local authority, as flats (including ground floor flats) generally don't qualify forpermitted development rights)permitted development rights for extensions.
However, very few people who live in flats own the outright freehold for their home. It’s more likely that you will have either a leasehold agreement - whereby you own the interior of your flat, but not the ground on which it sits or surrounding building - or a part-share of the freehold - where you share ownership of the ground and building with other owners.
This means that if you own, or are preparing to purchase, a ground floor flat with potential for development, you’ll probably need to get the consent of the (other) freeholders before you start any building work.
Here’s how to make that process as painless as possible...
