Flat
refurbishment
in Primrose Hill, NW1
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Hampstead Chartered Surveyors & Building ConsultancyPrimrose Hill flats sit above shop parades, inside divided terrace houses and in a few purpose-built blocks, and each kind starts with the lease and the building you share.
Several Primrose Hill terraces were designed with shops, small businesses or pubs below and flats above, mostly on Chalcot Road, Gloucester Avenue, Princess Road and Regent's Park Road.
A flat refurbishment here is planned twice: once for the rooms you own, and once for the stairs, roof, front and services you share with the rest of the building.
Source: Camden: Primrose Hill Conservation Area Statement (adopted December 2000, published January 2001)
Which kind of Primrose Hill flat you have
A flat over a shop is part of a terrace that was built for mixed use, with the shop front and the flats above designed together.
Purpose-built flats are rare in the conservation area; one example is No. 10 Regent's Park Road, a block of flats and studios built in 1954-6 to Erno Goldfinger's design.
A flat in a divided villa or terrace house inherits that house's walls, floors and drainage, so we start by tracing which structure and pipes belong to the flat and which are shared.
Source: Camden: Primrose Hill Conservation Area Statement (adopted December 2000, published January 2001)
The lease, the landlord and consent
Planning permission and building regulations approval do not settle the matter in a flat: LEASE explains that, depending on its terms, the lease itself may oblige you to ask the landlord before altering anything.
Read the whole document, not just the alterations clause. A covenant that floors stay carpeted, for instance, could stop a timber or laminate floor even in a lease that permits works.
Where consent is needed for non-structural changes, the law stops a landlord charging a premium for it, however the lease is worded.
We read the lease before drawing the layout, so the consent request goes to the landlord with drawings that already answer its clauses.
For most landlords that means a short pack: the existing and proposed plans, a note of any structural change, the floor build-up and how the work will be run inside the building.
Sources: LEASE: alterations and home improvements, LEASE: Alterations and home improvements
Flats inside divided terrace houses
Many flats here are floors of former family houses. The Gloucester Crescent houses, for example, rise three or four storeys above semi-basements with raised ground floors, so a single building can hold a garden flat and two or three flats above.
In a divided house, the flat often keeps one of the original rooms intact: a first-floor drawing room with its cornice and shutters, or a lower ground floor with a front lightwell. We plan new kitchens and bathrooms around those rooms rather than through them.
Original lightwells, railings and vaults at the front should be kept, which matters for a garden flat that relies on them for light and access.
Source: Camden: Primrose Hill Conservation Area Statement (adopted December 2000, published January 2001)
Flats in listed buildings
Listed building consent is a separate requirement from planning permission, and permitted development rights do not apply to it.
Camden protects every part of a listed building, including its interior and later additions, so internal changes in a listed flat are checked before design.
Where a flat is in a listed terrace, we record its plan, joinery and plasterwork first and design the new services to leave them in place.
Sources: Camden: Primrose Hill Conservation Area Statement (adopted December 2000, published January 2001), Camden Council: Listed buildings
Building regulations inside a flat
Building regulations approval is a different thing from planning permission, and a flat may need both.
Approval can come from Camden's building control service or from a registered private building control approver.
We agree which route applies before first fix, so inspections fall at the right stages and the completion certificate is ready at handover.
Source: GOV.UK: Building regulations approval
Sound, floors and the flats above and below
LEASE reminds leaseholders to consider how alterations affect other occupiers, including avoiding excessive noise and keeping shared corridors and stairs clear.
Where the landlord owns the floors or ceilings, underfloor heating that passes through them needs the landlord's permission.
Floor build-ups are agreed before strip-out: we measure the existing ceiling below, decide what can be added for sound and keep the door thresholds and skirtings in line.
Source: LEASE: Alterations and home improvements
Pipes, vents and anything outside the flat
Camden's guidance asks for new external pipework to go on side and rear elevations where possible, so it does not harm the main front.
Satellite dishes are not normally acceptable on the main facade; the smallest practical dish should be kept to the rear, below the ridge.
Camden's Article 4 directions remove some permitted development rights from flats as well as houses, which is why outside changes are checked against the address.
Sources: Camden Council: Home Improvements, Camden Planning Guidance (January 2021), Camden: Primrose Hill Conservation Area Statement (adopted December 2000, published January 2001), Camden Council: Article 4 Directions, heritage and conservation
Storage in a converted Primrose Hill flat
A flat made from one or two floors of a terrace house often has a deep chimney breast, a tall window and little else to hang storage on. Alcove cupboards, a bed with drawers beneath and a shallow run of hall cupboards can hold what a family needs without cutting into the original plaster or cornice.
We draw that joinery with the kitchen and bathroom, so pipes and sockets land where the cupboards leave room for them.
What to send before a flat is priced
Send the lease or its alterations clause, the floor the flat is on and what sits below it, and any consent the landlord has given before.
List the rooms you want to change and the ones to leave, and mark original features such as cornices, shutters and fireplaces that should stay.
Tell us how the building is managed: a managing agent, a residents' company or a single freeholder, and any rules they set for working hours or deliveries.
If you plan to live in the flat during the work, say which rooms you need to keep, so the programme can leave a bedroom and a bathroom usable for as long as possible.
Photographs of the hall, stair and any lift help us plan how kitchens, baths and boards will be brought in and the old ones taken out.
Flats we have refurbished nearby
These are flats in St John's Wood and Hampstead, each shown with its own address.
Questions about refurbishing a Primrose Hill flat
Do I need my landlord's permission to refurbish my flat?
Often. Depending on the lease, a leaseholder may need the landlord's permission for any alteration, even with planning permission and building regulations approval.
Can my landlord charge for consent?
Not for non-structural alterations: LEASE says it is against the law to charge a premium for that consent, whatever the lease says.
Can I lay a wooden floor in my flat?
Check the lease. A clause requiring carpeted floors could rule out wooden or laminate flooring even where alterations are allowed.
Can a new extract or pipe go on the front of the building?
Camden asks for new pipework on side and rear elevations where possible, to protect the main front of the building.
Can I fit a satellite dish to my flat?
Not normally on the main facade. Camden asks for the smallest practical dish, at the rear and below the ridge line.
What does a flat refurbishment in Primrose Hill cost?
A flat in Primrose Hill is costed around the building it sits in. The lease and the managing agent's rules, floor construction over the flat below, whether the house is listed, and how far services must travel set the scope. At a feasibility visit we confirm them; when the scope and specification are agreed, you receive a written quotation for the flat.
Sources: LEASE: alterations and home improvements, LEASE: Alterations and home improvements, Camden Council: Home Improvements, Camden Planning Guidance (January 2021), Camden: Primrose Hill Conservation Area Statement (adopted December 2000, published January 2001)
Sources
- Camden: Primrose Hill Conservation Area Statement (adopted December 2000, published January 2001)
- LEASE: alterations and home improvements
- Camden Council: Listed buildings
- GOV.UK: Building regulations approval
- Camden Council: Home Improvements, Camden Planning Guidance (January 2021)
- Camden Council: Article 4 Directions, heritage and conservation
Guides & Local Reading
Book a feasibility visit
Visit our studio or invite us to survey your home. We’ll assess scope, discuss design possibilities and provide an honest budget framework.
Consultation
We survey your property, discuss your vision and provide a clear budget framework.
Primrose Hill history & architecture
Background on the streets, buildings and conservation history of Primrose Hill: The Queen’s · Sylvia Plath at 23 Fitzroy Road · The Creation of Regent’s Park · The Shakespeare Oak · The Panorama · The Lady in the Van
Completed renovation project examples
