Introduction
Flat refurbishments in London are a distinct category of project. Unlike a house renovation, a flat refurbishment involves shared building elements, lease obligations, management company involvement, and planning rules that specifically affect flats differently from houses. Getting the approach right from the beginning makes the difference between a smooth project and one that stalls over permissions, neighbour complaints, or lease complications.
Step 1: Review Your Lease
Your lease is the starting point for any significant works to a leasehold flat. Most residential flat leases in London require the freeholder's or managing agent's consent before carrying out alterations — which typically covers anything beyond simple redecoration. Common lease restrictions include no removal of internal walls without consent, no changes to electrical or plumbing systems without consent, no changes to flooring from carpet to hard floor (particularly in upper-floor flats, due to noise impact below), and no alterations to the external fabric of the building. Carrying out works without the required consent can result in breach of lease proceedings, which may need to be resolved before you can sell. Before instructing an architect or contractor, read your lease and identify whether consent is required.
Step 2: Notify the Managing Agent
Even where the lease doesn't require a formal licence to alter, the managing agent or management company should be informed of any works affecting the building's common areas, structural elements, or M&E systems. This includes works to party walls, the building's drainage system, electrical supplies shared with the building, and communal areas that may be affected by the works. Notify the managing agent before works begin and confirm in writing when the project is complete.
Step 3: Understand Planning Restrictions for Flats
Flats do not have the same permitted development rights as houses. Almost all external alterations to a flat require a planning application, including adding roof lights or Velux windows, changing windows or doors on the front elevation, and any external extension or addition. For internal works only — a kitchen refurbishment, bathroom replacement, or replastering — planning permission is not required.
Step 4: Building Regulations
Building Regulations apply to certain types of works inside a flat, including electrical installation work (new circuits, consumer unit replacements), plumbing work involving new appliances, wall removal (if the wall is load-bearing or a compartment wall between flats), and new boiler installation. For electrical work, the contractor must be registered with a competent person scheme (such as NICEIC or NAPIT) and self-certify the work, or a Building Notice must be submitted to the local authority. For structural alterations in a flat, a structural engineer may be needed to assess the wall before any removal proceeds.
Step 5: Consider the Neighbours
A flat refurbishment almost inevitably creates noise, vibration, dust, and access issues that affect neighbours above, below, and beside you. Professional management includes communicating with neighbours before work begins, restricting noisy work to permitted hours (typically 8am–6pm Monday–Friday, 8am–1pm Saturdays, not at all on Sundays), managing dust carefully in shared entrance halls and stairwells, and ensuring delivery of materials doesn't block access. Neighbours kept informed and treated respectfully are far less likely to cause delays.
Step 6: Sequence the Works Properly
A flat refurbishment should follow a logical sequence: strip out and demolition if applicable; structural works if required; first-fix electrical and plumbing; plastering; second-fix electrical and plumbing; tiling in kitchens and bathrooms; joinery (skirting, architraves, fitted furniture); decoration; flooring; then fitting kitchen and bathroom units and appliances. Attempting to skip stages or run incompatible works simultaneously creates problems that are more expensive to fix than they would have been to avoid.
RCB Design & Build manages flat refurbishments across London, handling lease coordination, managing agent notifications, Building Regulations, and full trade coordination. Contact us to discuss your project.