Flat renovation
and refurbishment
in Kensington, W8

Kensington's flats come in several forms: large modern blocks built from the 1960s onwards, mansion blocks on Kensington High Street, two of which have garden terraces at first-floor level, and former warehouses to the north converted to flats and offices.

In the terraces, a flat may take a whole floor of a house, sometimes including the original half-basement behind a front lightwell, and in the eastern half those houses have yards rather than gardens.

Studios are part of the stock as well, from architect-designed studio houses to blocks of several studios and studios added to houses or gardens.

The tallest pre-war buildings, on Kensington High Street, fill entire blocks from one street to another, so flats in them have deep plans and long service routes back to the shared risers.

Many of the houses and flats are still used as they were built, which usually means the original plan of the floor is the starting point for a refurbishment.

We survey a Kensington flat with the stair, the risers and the flats above and below in view, because in each of these building types the shared parts set the limits.

Source: Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea: Kensington Conservation Area Appraisal

If the building is listed, the Local Plan's Policy CD5 sets a high bar: features of architectural importance, inside or out, are not to be stripped out or altered in a way that harms historic fabric unless the case is clear and convincing. Liability for unauthorised work falls on the owner and on whoever carried it out, RBKC adds, and either can end up with a criminal record.

Plenty of work in a flat sits outside Building Regulations approval. Gov.uk's exempt list covers swapping a bath, toilet, basin or sink, most repairs and maintenance, and new sockets or lights away from baths and showers; heating systems, fuse boxes, oil tanks and glazing units are the exceptions.

Before work starts, RBKC's Code of Construction Practice puts every site into Category 1, 2 or 3 according to its likely impact on the local area.

Neighbours should hear the work only on weekdays, 8am to 6pm, and any breaking out or demolition is held to two shorter weekday windows, morning and mid-afternoon, which RBKC sets at 9am to noon and 2pm to 5.30pm.

We put these checks into the brief, so the landlord's licence, any listed building consent and the Code category are known before the programme is agreed.

Sources: Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea: Local Plan (adopted July 2024), Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea: listed buildings explained, GOV.UK: when you don't need building regulations approval, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea: Code of Construction Practice, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea: construction site enforcement

Air conditioning gets particular scrutiny. The Local Plan asks anyone proposing it, even a single unit, to weigh its environmental impact and fully explore passive cooling and ventilation first, and Policy GB8 resists plant, heat pumps included, that would have an unacceptable noise and vibration impact on surrounding amenity.

In a listed block, air conditioning and vents are both on RBKC's list of works that need listed building consent, and Policy GB1 expects retrofitting in historic and listed buildings and in conservation areas not to harm their special interest, historic fabric or the area's character.

Sources: Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea: Local Plan (adopted July 2024), Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea: listed buildings explained

RBKC's Code of Construction Practice puts internal refurbishment in Category 3, mainly decorative and generally non-structural work with the building envelope left intact, but its street rules still apply. Deliveries and collections are restricted to 9.30am to 4.30pm on weekdays, or 3pm where a school or other traffic-sensitive use is on the route, and collecting construction waste counts as noisy work allowed only within the permitted hours.

No parking suspension is issued on a Saturday, Sunday or bank holiday unless a Construction Traffic Management Plan specifies an exception.

Source: Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea: Code of Construction Practice (April 2019)

Separate the aspirations for your Kensington flat from the information still needed about the building. List the rooms to be changed, the existing fittings to retain and the documents supplied by the landlord or managing agent. Ask for assumptions about concealed services to be identified rather than carried into the final layout unnoticed.

Review the apartment as a connected sequence of spaces. A revised doorway can alter furniture placement; a deeper storage unit can narrow circulation; a changed bathroom can affect the adjacent room. Keep those relationships in view when comparing options. Include access through common parts and the agreed arrangements for protecting retained finishes in the project discussion. If a landlord approval is required, the licence-to-alter information explains the separate enquiry to raise before relying on the proposed works.

£5M public liability, £10M employers' liability and contractors' all risks cover