Flat
refurbishment
in West Hampstead, NW6
Architects, Engineers & Builders Under One Roof.
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Hampstead Chartered Surveyors & Building ConsultancyWest Hampstead flats are mostly in red-brick mansion blocks or in houses split into flats, and each kind brings its own rules to the job.
Camden calls mansion blocks a characteristic of the area, and the neighbourhood plan notes they tend to rise four, five or six storeys.
We take on flats in purpose-built blocks and in converted houses, and plan each with the building's own rules from the first visit.
Sources: Camden Council: West End Green Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Strategy (adopted 28 February 2011), Fortune Green and West Hampstead Neighbourhood Plan (adopted by Camden, September 2015)
Mansion flats around West End Lane
At the top of the hill stand the largest blocks, Buckingham, Avenue and Malborough Mansions, and further along West End Lane five-storey mansion flats sit over the shops.
Honeybourne Road is defined by Yale and Harvard Courts, and Chomley Gardens is a substantial inter-war development wrapping round Hillfield Road, Aldred Road and Mill Lane.
Camden notes that the blocks share bold, repeated details, neat boundaries and hedges and simple rooflines, so changes to one flat's windows or entrance show against the whole block.
Sources: Camden: West End Green Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Strategy (adopted 28 February 2011), Camden Council: West End Green Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Strategy (adopted 28 February 2011)
Flats in converted houses
In South Hampstead, Camden calls the conversion of family houses into flats and maisonettes the greatest single pressure on the area.
For conversions needing permission, the neighbourhood plan seeks limits on the number of units, protection of the building's character and neighbours, and enough space to store waste.
A flat in a converted house usually shares a roof, a stack and a front door with others, so we trace which structure and services are the flat's own before the plan is fixed.
Sources: Camden: South Hampstead Conservation Area Character Appraisal and Management Strategy (February 2011), Fortune Green and West Hampstead Neighbourhood Plan (adopted by Camden, September 2015)
Windows, doors and the outside of the block
Window glazing patterns tend to be consistent across groups of houses and across each mansion block, the West End Green appraisal says.
The same appraisal notes that the blocks are well kept, but some features, doors in particular, have been replaced.
If a flat needs new windows or an entrance door, we draw them to match the block's existing pattern and send the drawings to the managing agent with the licence request.
Sources: Camden: West End Green Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Strategy (adopted 28 February 2011), Camden Council: West End Green Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Strategy (adopted 28 February 2011)
How we run a West Hampstead flat renovation
- Visit. We see the flat and the route to it from the street door, including the stairs, any lift and the landings.
- Lease first. We check the lease’s alterations clause and the managing agent’s procedure. Licence to Alter surveying is available from our sister practice, Hampstead Chartered Surveyors & Building Consultancy.
- Survey and design. Stacks, supplies and the floor construction are traced; our own architects and structural engineers then draw the layout and the acoustic build-up.
- Price and contract. A fixed written price and a JCT contract follow the survey, scope and specification. Consent fees and common-part allowances are listed separately.
- In a shared building. Common parts are protected; deliveries and noisy stages are agreed with the managing agent and neighbours; a director checks key decisions.
- Handover. Certificates, as-built drawings and the managing agent’s sign-off if the lease requires it. Completed work carries a 12-month aftercare/defects period under the JCT contract terms.
On this page: what the work covers · lease and council checks · working inside a shared building · what to send with an enquiry · local guidance and sources
Refurbishing a West Hampstead flat: what the work covers
In a converted house or a mansion apartment, much of what a new layout depends on belongs to the wider building. Trace the existing soil stacks and the incoming water and electricity supplies before moving rooms, and find out how the floor is constructed, since that governs how pipes, cables and new finishes can be run.
Treat acoustic and fire precautions as part of the design rather than an afterthought. Ask whether the proposed work triggers sound-insulation requirements under the Building Regulations, and how new openings and service penetrations affect separation from the homes above, below and alongside, before any ceiling or floor is taken down.
Source: GOV.UK: Approved Document E, resistance to sound · GOV.UK: building regulations approval
Lease and council checks for a West Hampstead flat
A lease can require the landlord's consent to alterations independently of anything the council decides. Read its alterations clauses, establish who is responsible for the structure, external walls, shared pipes and common parts, and agree any consent drawings and conditions with the freeholder or managing agent before work is booked, checking any flooring restriction at the same stage.
Source: LEASE: alterations and home improvements
Householder permitted-development rights do not apply to flats, but that does not mean every internal change needs planning permission, because ordinary internal alterations generally fall outside development. An external item such as a new vent or window needs its own assessment, and neither the area name nor the NW6 postcode confirms whether the building sits in Camden's West End Green or South Hampstead conservation area.
Source: GOV.UK: permitted development rights for householders · GOV.UK: when planning permission is required · Camden: West End Green Conservation Area · Camden: South Hampstead Conservation Area
If the block or converted house is listed, protection can extend to interior features and the plan form, and the list entry is not a full inventory, so assess the flat's proposal as a whole. Building Regulations are a separate check, so confirm the approval route and completion records for structural, electrical and plumbing work in the flat before it begins.
Source: Historic England: listed building consent · Historic England: understanding list entries · GOV.UK: building regulations approval · Camden: building control step by step
Working inside a shared West Hampstead building
Camden normally permits noisy building work between 8am and 6pm from Monday to Friday and between 8am and 1pm on Saturday; outside those windows, including Sundays and bank holidays, authorisation is needed. A lease or the managing agent's rules may narrow those hours for a block, so check them before the strip-out is programmed.
Source: Camden noisy building work hours
Where waste will go by skip, it needs a licence to stand on a Camden public road, the skip company makes the application, and the pavement is not an option. A parking bay taken by the skip needs its own suspension, so confirm both before delivery dates are agreed with suppliers.
Source: Camden skip licences · Camden parking bay suspensions
Where new pipework or wiring must connect to shared stacks or supplies, agree with the managing agent when any isolation will happen and how neighbouring flats will be told. Settle as well how corridors and the space outside neighbouring front doors will be left clean and safe at the end of each working day.
What to send with a West Hampstead flat enquiry
Give the address, the floor the flat is on and whether it is in a converted house or a mansion apartment building, with a copy of the lease and any managing-agent rules on alterations. Note what you know about listing and earlier work, and include existing plans and photographs to frame the first conversation.
Set out which rooms should change, what is not working today and which original details must survive, marking essentials apart from preferences. Say whether you expect to live in the flat during the work, because occupation changes how noisy stages, isolations and use of the shared parts are organised for you and the neighbours.
Ask each quotation to price investigation, design and approvals, construction, services, fittings, finishes and VAT separately, naming its provisional sums and exclusions. Before starting, agree responsibilities, payment stages and how changes will be approved, and identify the inspections, certificates and handover records relevant to the work, including any the landlord's consent requires.
A West Hampstead conversion
Questions about refurbishing a West Hampstead flat
Does my mansion block have rules about windows?
Often, through the lease; Camden also notes that glazing patterns are consistent within each block, so changes stand out.
Can a West Hampstead house be split into flats?
Where permission is needed, the neighbourhood plan seeks limits on unit numbers and protection of the building and neighbours.
Which are the main mansion blocks here?
Buckingham, Avenue and Malborough Mansions at the top of the hill, Yale and Harvard Courts on Honeybourne Road, and Chomley Gardens.
How tall are West Hampstead's mansion blocks?
The neighbourhood plan says they tend to be four, five or six storeys.
Why do conversions face scrutiny in South Hampstead?
Camden calls conversion of family houses into flats the greatest single development pressure there.
What does a flat refurbishment in West Hampstead cost?
Your West Hampstead figure is confirmed after a feasibility visit.
Sources: Camden: West End Green Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Strategy (adopted 28 February 2011), Fortune Green and West Hampstead Neighbourhood Plan (adopted by Camden, September 2015), Camden Council: West End Green Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Strategy (adopted 28 February 2011), Camden: South Hampstead Conservation Area Character Appraisal and Management Strategy (February 2011)
Sources
- Camden Council: West End Green Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Strategy (adopted 28 February 2011)
- Fortune Green and West Hampstead Neighbourhood Plan (adopted by Camden, September 2015)
- Camden: West End Green Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Strategy (adopted 28 February 2011)
- Camden: South Hampstead Conservation Area Character Appraisal and Management Strategy (February 2011)
Guides & Local Reading
More Services in West Hampstead
Book a feasibility visit
We visit the flat, look at the block’s entrance and stairs, and talk through the lease, the managing agent’s rules, feasibility and a first budget.
Your flat and its block
Say which floor the flat is on, what the block is called and who manages it.
Completed renovation project examples
