Converting lift shaft into storage area.
Posted: 08 Jan 2026 00:42
The contract of sale for my 1st floor apartment includes a storage area which is shown on the plan as the lift shaft adjoining my kitchen area with an internal opening to the hallway of my apartment. The building consists of ground floor, first floor and second floor apartments.
The contract was lodged with the Land Registry and I obtained my "dirty" title deeds during the amnesty for trapped buyers. The title deeds were not clean because of numerous planning infractions which included no lifts being installed in the complex of 5 blocks consisting of 31 apartments. The Developer has since declared himself bankrupt. I now wish to floor off the area shown in the plans and separate it from the voids on the ground and second floors where the lift should have been installed. I believe that the sale contract gives me legal ownership of the designated area and, as the projected work is internal, the external characteristics of the building will not be affected. I therefore believe that statutory permission is not required to undertake the proposed construction.
Please advise if, in your experience and to your knowledge, my assumptions re ownership and the need or otherwise for statutory permission are correct and/or the legal aspects and possible repercussions of proceeding with the project as planned. Many thanks.
The contract was lodged with the Land Registry and I obtained my "dirty" title deeds during the amnesty for trapped buyers. The title deeds were not clean because of numerous planning infractions which included no lifts being installed in the complex of 5 blocks consisting of 31 apartments. The Developer has since declared himself bankrupt. I now wish to floor off the area shown in the plans and separate it from the voids on the ground and second floors where the lift should have been installed. I believe that the sale contract gives me legal ownership of the designated area and, as the projected work is internal, the external characteristics of the building will not be affected. I therefore believe that statutory permission is not required to undertake the proposed construction.
Please advise if, in your experience and to your knowledge, my assumptions re ownership and the need or otherwise for statutory permission are correct and/or the legal aspects and possible repercussions of proceeding with the project as planned. Many thanks.