Flat
refurbishment
in Kentish Town, NW5
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Hampstead Chartered Surveyors & Building ConsultancyMost Kentish Town flats sit in houses designed for a single household and split up later, so the refurbishment starts with what the flat shares.
Camden's Bartholomew Estate statement names subdivision into maisonettes and flats as the largest change the estate has seen, most of it in the 1960s and 1970s.
We refurbish flats in converted houses and in purpose-built blocks, and agree with the freeholder or managing agent which walls, floors and pipes belong to the flat before any demolition.
Source: Camden: Bartholomew Estate Conservation Area Statement (adopted 2000)
Flats in divided terraces
Intensive subdivision of houses built for single families can harm the Kentish Town Conservation Area, Camden's strategy says, through outside alterations, extensions and parking demand.
On the Bartholomew Estate, a house split into units has lost its permitted development rights.
So even a small outside change to a flat, such as a new window or a flue, usually needs an application, and we plan for one.
Sources: Camden: Kentish Town Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Strategy (adopted 11 March 2011), Camden: Bartholomew Estate Conservation Area Statement (adopted 2000)
Reading the lease first
LEASE points out that a lease can require the landlord's consent to alterations that already have planning and building regulations approval.
Clauses on finishes matter too: one that insists on carpet may rule out boards or engineered timber.
We list every lease clause that touches the work and send the drawings with the request for consent.
Source: LEASE: alterations and home improvements
Windows and the front of a shared house
Camden notes that window replacements in the Kentish Town Conservation Area have not always kept to the original patterns.
Its appraisal saw energy-saving window changes do avoidable harm, worst where timber sashes became casements, metal or uPVC.
The management strategy wants windows returned to their first glazing and bar pattern, and weighs any energy upgrade against the house's historic character.
In a divided house one flat's windows are part of a shared front, so we draw replacements to the pattern the other flats still have.
Source: Camden: Kentish Town Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Strategy (adopted 11 March 2011)
Converted pubs and council-built blocks
Not every flat is in a terrace house: the Falkland Arms on Falkland Road has been converted to flats behind its historic front and pub sign.
London County Council blocks north and south of Leighton Road sit between the two parts of the conservation area.
Each building has its own rules for access, deliveries and working hours, and we ask for them in writing before the programme is fixed.
Source: Camden: Kentish Town Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Strategy (adopted 11 March 2011)
Party walls and the flats next door
Work that cuts into a party wall, or takes a chimney out of one, has to be notified to the neighbour first, GOV.UK says.
Owners who disagree each appoint a party wall surveyor, or share one, and cannot act as their own.
None of this replaces planning permission or building regulations approval; it runs alongside them.
Source: GOV.UK: Party walls and building work
Floors and the flat below
Swapping carpet for timber can carry footsteps into the flat below. Where the lease allows a hard floor, we lay it on an acoustic underlay and isolate it from the walls.
Lifting old boards also shows the state of the joists and the pipes in the void; we record both before closing the floor again.
Ceilings are kept up where possible, because the plaster on the underside belongs to the flat below.
Bins, bikes and the front garden
Camden's Bartholomew Estate statement lists lost garden space and too little room for refuse in front gardens among the pressures conversions bring.
The Kentish Town appraisal values front gardens as green, neat edges, often hedged where the railings went.
If a refurbishment includes a bin or bike store, we design a low enclosure behind the hedge line.
Sources: Camden: Bartholomew Estate Conservation Area Statement (adopted 2000), Camden: Kentish Town Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Strategy (adopted 11 March 2011)
Heating, wiring and the meter cupboard
A flat carved out of a Victorian house often has its meter in the shared hall and its boiler in a kitchen cupboard. We trace both before the layout is fixed, because moving either can mean the freeholder's or the supplier's consent.
Rewiring is planned room by room with sockets, data and lighting drawn on the plan, so chases are cut once and the plaster is made good once.
Where a combination boiler is replaced, we agree the flue position early and look for a route to the rear before the front is considered.
Working through a shared hall
While work is under way, LEASE reminds leaseholders to limit noise and keep stairs, corridors and shared space clean and clear.
We cover the shared hall and stair carpet with protection the other residents can walk on, carry materials in at quiet times, and post a notice by the front door with the site lead's number.
Rubbish leaves the building the same day, so nothing waits in the hall or the front garden.
Source: LEASE: Alterations and home improvements
Questions about refurbishing a Kentish Town flat
Does my landlord have to agree to a flat refurbishment?
Frequently yes: the lease may call for consent even where planning and building regulations approval are in hand.
Can my flat's sash windows be swapped for uPVC?
Camden's Kentish Town strategy wants windows restored to their original glazing and bars instead.
Can I extend my flat without planning permission?
Generally not: householder permitted development excludes flats, and on the Bartholomew Estate subdivided houses have lost those rights.
Is a party wall notice needed for work in my flat?
If the work cuts into a party wall or removes a chimney from it, the neighbour must be told first.
Am I allowed a wooden floor?
That depends on the lease, as some clauses require carpet.
What does a flat refurbishment in Kentish Town cost?
Your Kentish Town figure is confirmed after a feasibility visit.
Sources: LEASE: alterations and home improvements, Camden: Kentish Town Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Strategy (adopted 11 March 2011), MHCLG: Permitted development rights for householders, Technical Guidance (September 2019), Camden: Bartholomew Estate Conservation Area Statement (adopted 2000), GOV.UK: Party walls and building work
Related pages
Sources
- Camden: Bartholomew Estate Conservation Area Statement (adopted 2000)
- Camden: Kentish Town Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Strategy (adopted 11 March 2011)
- LEASE: alterations and home improvements
- GOV.UK: Party walls and building work
- MHCLG: Permitted development rights for householders, Technical Guidance (September 2019)
Guides & Local Reading
Flat Refurbishment in Nearby Areas
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Background on the streets, buildings and conservation history of Kentish Town: The Atmosphere of Kentish Town Roads