Freeholder Demanding over £4k for Retrospective Consent – Can I Challenge This?

Hi everyone,

I'm in the process of selling my leasehold flat which has been in my family since the early 80s – my grandparents bought it and now it’s come down to me. I’ve been living here for the past 10 years after having made some alterations when I moved in, which my late father managed.

I've just received a letter from the freeholder company demanding over £4,000 in fees for a "Retrospective Licence" due to alleged unauthorised alterations and breaches of the lease, which states I’m not allowed to “make any structural alterations in the premises without the approval in writing of the Lessor.”

The freeholder claims that they were not informed of the following:

  1. A wall was removed from the kitchen to make it open plan.
  2. A wall was added to create an extra bedroom.

Importantly, both the walls are/were stud walls, not load-bearing, so in my mind they were not “structural”.

My dad was in charge of the kitchen renovation and I don’t know if he notified the freeholder or not. However, the additional bedroom wall has been there since my grandparents bought the flat over 40 years ago. It existed when they moved in, and I would have thought this should have been picked up during the conveyancing process back in the early 1980s.

I have a few questions:

  1. Can they really enforce this charge for a wall that has been in place for over 40 years? In my mind their right to enforce this covenant has lapsed.
  2. How do I evidence that the additional bedroom wall predates our ownership? The flat has been in my family since the early 80s, but I have no idea how to prove the wall was already there.
  3. Should I challenge the fees? Over £4,000 seems excessive and unreasonable for this retrospective licence – I get the impression the landlord is trying to squeeze me for as much as possible given that the sale may depend on it.

Of course I will be discussing with my solicitors but has anyone dealt with anything similar? Any advice would be hugely appreciated!

EDIT: Thanks for all the replies - really useful. I have a discussion with my solicitor tomorrow to discuss. But yes my current thinking is to attempt some sort of negotiation, with the expectation I'll likely need to pay what they're asking.