If you are planning changes to your office, one of the first questions to answer is whether you need a licence to alter before work can begin. For most London SMEs on a leasehold space, the answer is yes for anything beyond redecoration. It is a formal permission from your landlord, and getting it wrong, or skipping it, can leave you in breach of your lease and facing an unexpected bill years later. It is straightforward once you know how it works, and this guide covers what it costs and how long it takes.
What is a licence to alter?
A licence to alter is a legal document in which your landlord grants written consent for you to make specific changes to the premises. It sits alongside your lease and records what you may do, on what terms, and what will happen to those alterations when your tenancy ends. Think of it as the landlord signing off your plans in writing.
Most commercial leases contain an alterations covenant that prevents tenants from making structural or significant non-structural changes without consent. The licence is how that consent is given.
Do you actually need one for your fit-out?
It depends on what you are doing and what your lease says, but as a rule of thumb:
- Redecoration such as painting and new carpet usually does not need consent.
- Non-structural alterations such as new partitions, additional power and data points or a new kitchenette almost always do.
- Structural alterations, or anything affecting the building’s services or exterior, will definitely need consent and often more detailed conditions.
Read the alterations clause in your lease and, if in doubt, ask the landlord or a solicitor before you commit. A Category B fit-out will nearly always cross into work that requires a licence. Our office fit-out process guide shows where consent sits in the sequence.
Can the landlord refuse?
It depends on the wording. If the covenant is absolute, the landlord can refuse consent for any reason. If it is qualified, meaning consent is not to be unreasonably withheld, the landlord must act reasonably. Where the work counts as an improvement and the lease is silent on consent, the Landlord and Tenant Act 1927 treats the covenant as qualified, but a landlord may still require reasonable conditions and payment of their costs. Many leases prohibit structural changes absolutely and allow non-structural ones with consent, so check which category your work falls into.
What happens if you skip it?
Carrying out alterations without consent is a breach of your lease. The landlord can require you to stop work or reinstate the space. More commonly it comes back at the end of the lease, when unauthorised alterations inflate your dilapidations liability because there was no agreement about how they would be treated. A little time on the licence now avoids a far larger headache later.
How long does a licence to alter take?
This is the part that catches people out. For a simple non-structural office scheme, four to eight weeks from submitting complete drawings is a sensible planning assumption. It can run longer if the landlord instructs a surveyor or solicitor slowly, if the building has a head landlord or mortgagee whose consent is also needed, or if your drawings need to be revised. Delay has a cost of its own if it pushes your start date back. Our short-programme office works page explains how to protect a fixed deadline, and our guide to how long an office fit-out takes shows where consent fits in the programme.
What does it cost?
You will usually pay your own costs and the landlord’s reasonable fees for reviewing and granting the licence. Indicative ranges for an office scheme in London:
- Landlord’s legal fees: around £1,000 to £3,000 for a straightforward licence, and more for complex works.
- Landlord’s surveyor or engineer fees: around £750 to £2,500.
- Your own solicitor: around £1,000 to £3,000.
- Drawings and specification: from around £1,500, depending on scope.
- Building control and other approvals: around £300 to £1,500.
- A works bond or deposit: commonly £2,000 to £10,000, refundable on satisfactory completion.
For a modest non-structural office scheme, expect consent costs of roughly £3,000 to £8,000 before any building work. These are indicative and exclude VAT. They are also charged whether or not the answer is yes, which is why our post on the hidden costs of an office refurbishment lists consent as a line most budgets miss.
What does the process involve?
The typical steps look like this:
- You submit plans, a specification, a programme and your contractor’s insurance details to the landlord.
- The landlord reviews them, often with a surveyor or solicitor, and sets any conditions.
- The parties agree the terms, including whether the alterations must be removed at lease end.
- The licence is drawn up and signed, and work can begin.
Submitting a complete package first time is the single best way to shorten this, because every query restarts a clock.
What conditions can a landlord attach?
A landlord is entitled to impose reasonable conditions. Common ones include using approved contractors, carrying out the work to a proper standard and in line with building regulations, obtaining statutory consents, keeping the building insured during works, and paying the landlord’s costs. The most significant condition is nearly always the one on reinstatement at the end of the term.
The link between your licence and future dilapidations
The licence to alter is where your end-of-lease costs are quietly decided. If it says your alterations must be removed, you have effectively agreed to a future reinstatement bill. If it allows them to remain, or is silent, you may have far less to do. Negotiate the reinstatement wording now rather than discovering it years later. A schedule of condition agreed at the same time can also protect you. For what that bill can look like, see how to avoid a costly dilapidations bill and reinstatement versus settlement.
Getting it right from the start
A licence to alter is not a hurdle so much as housekeeping that protects you. It confirms the landlord is happy with your plans, sets out what happens at the end of the lease and keeps you on the right side of your obligations. Sort it early, as part of your wider fit-out planning, and it never becomes the thing that holds the project up. Our pre-fit-out checklist puts it in context.
Beem Interiors helps clients understand the consents their fit-out needs and designs schemes that keep landlords comfortable and reinstatement costs sensible. See our dilapidations and end-of-lease works service or get in touch for an itemised quote.
