An investor(s) would agree a deal on an office unit with the seller/letting agent which would be subject to planning permission. We would survey the building and produce a set of plans based on the specification and the investors’ unit brief requirements. Once agreed, we submit a set of plans to the council under a prior approval application. This is an extension of permitted development rights and gives a much higher chance for the approval of the development making the investment less risk for you as an investor.

Not always. This depends on the sqm of the property. You can submit a prior approval notification for office to residential conversions for floor plan space up to 500sqm. Changes of use class will vary on the application type for submission to the local authority. Our model is focused mainly on the office to residential as there is a quick turnaround on applications and minimal risk for investors.

30sqm. This is for office to residential schemes and it will certainly depend on the council and the end use of the units. Sometimes, the units are student or studio flats which mean you can go below the national space standard of 37sqm for a one-bedroom unit. We would advise that mortgages are difficult to obtain if apartments are under the 30sqm threshold.

Planning permission will take 8 weeks for minor applications. Minor applications – for residential purposes – 1-9 dwellings building does not exceed more than 999sqm. Planning permission will take 13 weeks for major applications. Major applications – for residential purposes – 10 + dwellings building exceeds more than 1000sqm.

The surveys you will require at bare minimum for an office to residential conversion are as follows;

– Building Survey
– Structural Survey
– Topographical Survey (Site & Building Levels)
– Asbestos survey
– Utilities Survey (Gas, Water, Electric, Virgin/BT)
– Drainage/CCTV Survey
– Flood Risk Assessment (If the building is in flood risk zone 2 or 3)

We have contacts for all of the above and can arrange them for you as part of our service.

This will depend on your scheme proposal and the number of units you will achieve. The developer contributions are what are known as Section 106 agreements. S106 agreements are payments you will be required to make in some cases for larger residential developments. Major applications will be considered for S106 agreements.

We would strongly advise that you obtain an S106 viability report completed on the development which will determine whether the contribution is reasonable or if it makes the development unviable as it can cut into profit margins and will ultimately make the council lose out on new dwellings for residents.

This will depend on the building and its context. Usually, the main costs are building upgrades to meet u values and heating requirements, and the installation of plant rooms for the new utility connections. Other costs are structural works, such as forming new floors or bracing the existing structure. Sometimes the roof may require new rafters or insulation upgrades, for example. This will also be affected by your chosen internal finish and specification. We can give you our specification which has worked for our other developments if you are unsure on the finish (take a look at our visuals for an understanding of the final product).