Flat
refurbishment
in Earl's Court, SW5
Architects, Engineers, Surveyors & Builders Under One Roof.
One Studio. One Contract. One Team.
Independent surveying by our sister practice, Hampstead Chartered Surveyors (RICS Firm No. 923064)For flat refurbishment in Earl's Court, plan the interior alongside the shared building. Survey the rooms, floor construction and service routes, then coordinate the specification with the lease and access arrangements.
Earl's Court is built around its great garden squares. Nevern Square and Philbeach Gardens carry sweeping stuccoed Italianate terraces, while Penywern Road and Earl's Court Square add tall white-fronted houses, most of them long divided into flats. The area sits within the Earl's Court conservation areas, and it holds one of the highest concentrations of period conversions anywhere in the Royal Borough.
That makes flat refurbishment the characteristic work here, and it requires separate checks of RBKC guidance and any lease conditions. In the leasehold conversions we assess structure, acoustics and any required freeholder consent together, with party-wall awards where openings pass through shared period walls. Check the current Article 4 direction for the exact address and proposed external work with Kensington and Chelsea; requirements depend on the property and the type of alteration.
A full two-bedroom flat refurbishment runs £60,000 to £110,000 excluding VAT, and each Earl's Court flat is assessed within that range by its own building, lease and access. The conversion settings described here include Nevern Square, Philbeach Gardens, Penywern Road and Earl's Court Square.
A converted flat within a larger period building
For a Penywern Road or Earl’s Court Square conversion, establish which floors, walls and pipe routes are shared before altering the layout. Measure the common stair for delivery and removal, and agree protection for retained stucco and joinery where work meets the entrance or exterior.
Flat Refurbishment in Earl's Court: Applied to the Local Stock
RBKC Article 4 directions withdraw permitted development rights for small-scale external changes - windows, front doors, boundary walls and roof coverings - on Earl's Court streets including Earls Court Square, Eardley Crescent, Nevern Square and Philbeach Gardens. RBKC has adopted conservation area appraisals covering Earl's Court: Earl's Court Square (adopted 6 June 2016), Earl's Court Village (16 February 2017), Nevern Square (4 October 2018) and Philbeach (4 October 2018). Earl’s Court sits in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, within the Earl’s Court conservation areas, on grand stuccoed garden squares.
Sources: RBKC, Article 4 Directions in Conservation Areas (2026); RBKC, Conservation area appraisals and proposal statements (2026); RBKC conservation area maps (register of the borough's 38 conservation areas) (2026)
What a Flat Refurbishment Involves
Refurbishing a flat means renovating inside a building you share — so the job is as much about leases, neighbours and building rules as it is about kitchens and finishes. We plan every project around the consents your lease demands and the protocols your block expects, then deliver the technical work under one fixed-price contract. A typical scope covers the elements below.
- Licence to Alter — lease review, application pack and freeholder’s surveyor queries handled on your behalf
- Acoustic build-up — separating floors and walls upgraded to meet Building Regulations Part E and any stricter freeholder schedule
- Wet-room tanking — certified waterproofing beneath every bathroom, flood-tested before tiling and covered by a 12-month defects period
- Rewire & replumb — new circuits, pipework and heating, coordinated with the building’s risers and stacks
- Layout changes — internal openings engineered, approved by building control and cleared with the freeholder where the lease allows
- Kitchens & bathrooms — designed, supplied and fitted to the specification tier you select
- Period detail — cornicing, sash windows and fireplaces retained and repaired in conversion flats
- Block protocols — lift protection, booked deliveries, restricted noisy hours and daily cleaning of communal areas
How We Run Your Project
Six stages, with the consent requirements and their effect on the programme considered before work starts.
- Survey & lease review — we measure the flat, inspect the services and read your lease to identify exactly which consents apply.
- Design & consents — our architects develop the layout while the Licence to Alter application runs in parallel, not afterwards.
- Fixed-price contract — an itemised specification agreed in full, with the acoustic and tanking details written in.
- Strip-out & first fix — soft strip, structural openings, cabling, pipework and the acoustic carcass, all removed and delivered through agreed routes.
- Second fix & finishes — kitchen, bathrooms, joinery, flooring and decoration.
- Testing & handover — snagging, certification and reinstatement of any communal areas before the keys come back to you.
Read the full flat refurbishment guide for flat typologies, specification tiers and the Licence to Alter process in detail.
Read the lease and identify any required freeholder consent or Licence to Alter for the proposed work before it is programmed. Planning permission, listed-building consent and Building Regulations are separate checks. Flats do not share the householder permitted-development rights available to houses, but that does not mean every external repair needs an application: like-for-like window replacement may not need planning permission, subject to the property and local requirements. Check the actual alteration, including any effect on a listed building's special interest. Our planning guide library explains the separate approval routes.
Why Hampstead Renovations
Flat refurbishment rewards a team that already knows what freeholders and managing agents will ask for. Design is led by our in-house RIBA Chartered Architects, lease and party-structure matters are supported by RICS surveying through our sister company, Hampstead Chartered Surveyors, and the build is carried out by our own long-standing teams. Every contract is fixed-price on JCT terms, backed by £10M public liability insurance — the level major London freeholders require — plus a 12-month defects period. Enquire before 2pm on a weekday and we will call you back the same day.
What does a flat refurbishment cost in Earl's Court?
A flat refurbishment in Earl's Court runs £900–£1,700/sqm excluding VAT, and a full two-bedroom refurbishment typically lands between £60,000 and £110,000. Most programmes take 16–32 weeks on site. A written scope and site assessment are needed before any project price can be fixed.
| Scope of work | Guide rate | Typical total |
|---|---|---|
| Full flat refurbishment (2-bed) | £900–£1,700/sqm | £60,000–£110,000 |
| Typical programme | 16–32 weeks on site | |
Guide rates exclude VAT and are set by depth of work, not by property type. Compare scopes in our London refurbishment cost-per-square-metre guide.
Flat Refurbishment in Earl's Court: Questions
Is Earl's Court really a flat-refurbishment area?
Very much so. Earl's Court has one of the highest concentrations of period conversions in the Royal Borough, its tall stuccoed houses long since divided into flats, so flat refurbishment governed by RBKC and the freeholders is the defining work here.
Whose consent does an Earl's Court flat refurbishment need?
For a flat in Earl's Court, check the lease and alteration requirements with the landlord or managing agent. The lease and proposed work determine whether written consent or a Licence to Alter is needed. Establish the shared structure, floor build-up, service routes and access arrangements before agreeing alterations. Planning, listed-building and Building Regulations checks are separate; a postcode does not establish which approvals apply.
Can you reunite two Earl's Court flats back into a single house?
Yes, and it is increasingly common. Many of Earl's Court's tall garden-square houses were split into flats, and reuniting them into one home, restoring the stucco and reconfiguring the plan, is a substantial part of the work here.
Do Article 4 directions affect an Earl's Court flat?
Check the exact address and proposed alterations against Kensington and Chelsea guidance. Confirm the conservation boundary, any Article 4 direction and whether the building is listed. A direction restricts specified development at the properties it covers; it does not make every refurbishment a planning application. Listed-building consent may be needed for work affecting special interest, including interiors. Assess Building Regulations and any lease or estate requirements separately.
How much does a flat refurbishment cost in Earl's Court?
A full two-bedroom flat refurbishment runs £60,000 to £110,000 excluding VAT, and each Earl's Court flat is assessed within that range by its own building, lease and access.
Relevant Completed Flat Refurbishment Projects
Local character & heritage: renovating flats in Earls Court
Earls Court sits in the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, and a large share of its homes are leasehold flats — within grand stucco terraces and garden squares, mostly now mansion and converted flats. Refurbishing one is a full interior project: reconfiguring the layout, renewing services and finishes, and often combining or reworking rooms within the existing footprint.
The work runs under the lease, so any required freeholder or managing-agent consent is assessed alongside Building Regulations and party-wall notices may be needed for qualifying work; external elements such as windows require an address-specific planning check. Because most homes are leasehold flats and many buildings are listed, we coordinate the lease, the freeholder and the build as one fixed-price contract.
Earls Court heritage & architecture: Renovating a flat · Kitchens in period flats · Licence to alter · Mansion flats · Conservation areas · Roof developments & conservation
Flat Refurbishment in Earl’s Court: Planning & Local Context
the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea · SW5
Planning for flat refurbishment in Earl’s Court
Flat refurbishment in Earl’s Court sits across two consent regimes: the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea for planning and building control, and your freeholder for a licence to alter covering structural changes, new services and floor build-ups — essential within Earl’s Court's conservation areas and most mansion blocks.
the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea context
Check the exact address and proposed alterations against Kensington and Chelsea guidance. Confirm the conservation boundary, any Article 4 direction and whether the building is listed. A direction restricts specified development at the properties it covers; it does not make every refurbishment a planning application. Listed-building consent may be needed for work affecting special interest, including interiors. Assess Building Regulations and any lease or estate requirements separately.
Building Regulations
Flat Refurbishment in Earl’s Court must satisfy Building Regulations — covering sound insulation to Part E, fire compartmentation to Part B, and certified electrical and plumbing works. Our in-house engineers manage Building Control from initial notice to completion certificate.
Recent work & local links
Explore our other Earl’s Court services — Kitchen Renovation Loft Conversions — or the Earl’s Court renovation hub.
Agree the necessary planning and building-control documents for the address and proposed work. View our planning track record →
Guides & Local Reading
Flat Refurbishment in Nearby Areas
More Services in Earl's Court
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We survey your property, discuss your vision and provide a clear budget framework.