PROPERTY RENOVATION COST LONDON • GUIDE
How Much Does a Renovation Cost London?
Costs & What to Expect
Every home renovation or property renovation quote you get will show you the headline number. Fewer will walk you through what tends to get added on top once work actually starts — and that's usually the gap between a quote and a final bill.
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Timeline by project type
Timeline by project type
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Painting and decorating — £1,300 for a 2 bedroom, £7,000-£9,000+ for a 3+ storey
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Bathroom refresh (paint, regrout, new silicone) — starting from £800
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Bathroom refit (new suite, same layout) — averages of £2,400 - £7,800
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Bathroom full renovation (layout changed, replumbed) — £8,900 and upwards
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Kitchen reface (new doors, worktop, no layout change) — from £1,300
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Kitchen refit (full new kitchen, same footprint) — £2,800 - £8,200
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Kitchen full renovation (structural wall removed, layout changed) — £9,750 and upwards
Where quotes usually stop, and costs usually start
Structural and professional fees. A structural engineer's calculation for a removed wall, building control fees, and — where relevant — a party wall surveyor's fee are often quoted separately from the renovation itself, and it's easy to forget to budget for them as part of the total project cost rather than an afterthought.
Planning and consent costs. A planning application has its own council fee, and if it's rejected or needs resubmission, that's a second fee and a second wait. Listed building consent applications can also involve paying for a heritage statement or specialist drawings, particularly for anything touching original features.
Contingency for hidden problems. This is the single biggest source of budget overrun on older properties, and it's genuinely common rather than bad luck — industry data on UK renovations consistently points to a large share of projects exceeding their initial budget, typically by somewhere in the 15-20% range once something is found once work is underway:
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Damp or rot behind old tiling or render, invisible until it's exposed — commonly several hundred pounds to put right, more if it's extensive
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Old pipework needing partial replacement once walls or floors are opened up
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Uneven floors or walls needing levelling before new flooring or tiling can go down
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Old electrics that fall short of a modern appliance load, requiring a partial rewire — an EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report) done before work starts can flag this before it becomes a mid-job surprise
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Asbestos testing and removal, relevant in any property that hasn't been renovated since before the 1980s
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Lead paint testing, relevant to any property with layers of paint predating the 1960s
A sensible contingency fund on top of any quote is generally 10-20% for a straightforward refit, rising to 15-25% for a full renovation on an older property — the age and renovation history of your specific building should push you toward the higher or lower end of that range. Treat this as a genuine reserve rather than money you expect to spend outright; if the project comes in under budget, it's a bonus, not a shortfall you've narrowly avoided.
VAT. Standard renovation work is charged at 20% VAT. There's a genuinely useful exception worth knowing: renovating a residential property that's been empty for two years or more can qualify for a reduced 5% VAT rate, which is a substantial saving on a large project if your property qualifies — worth raising with your contractor and checking directly with HMRC before work starts, since the qualifying conditions are specific.
Temporary living costs. A full kitchen or bathroom renovation typically means a period without a working room — anywhere from a week to considerably longer for a full renovation. Budgeting for takeaways, a temporary kitchen setup, or alternative bathroom access isn't a line item most quotes include, but it's a real cost of the project.
Waste removal and skip permits. Larger renovations generate more waste than people expect, and skip hire, permits for street placement, and additional waste removal trips are sometimes charged separately from the core labour and materials cost.
Conservation areas in London
Conservation area status is one of the most common reasons a renovation ends up costing or taking longer than the headline figure suggested. Permitted development rights — the allowance that lets a lot of exterior work go ahead without a full planning application — are frequently reduced inside a conservation area, and in some cases removed entirely for specific work like windows or render through an Article 4 direction. That's an extra fee, an extra wait, and sometimes a redesign, all before the trades even arrive. Since London has well over a thousand conservation areas and coverage can change from one street to the next, it's worth checking your specific address rather than assuming based on the area's general reputation — you can search any postcode on our conservation areas map to see instantly where you stand.
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FAQ
Common questions
on renovation timelines.
Why did my final bill end up higher than the quote?
In most cases, it's one of the contingency items above — something found once old surfaces were opened up that couldn't have been seen beforehand. A reputable contractor should flag this before proceeding with the extra work, not add it silently to a final invoice.
Can I do a renovation in stages to spread the cost?
Yes, though it's generally more expensive overall than doing it in one continuous project, since remobilising trades and re-disrupting finished work later adds cost that a single sequenced project avoids.
Does a fixed-price quote mean the price can never change?
A genuinely fixed quote shouldn't change for the scope as specified — however, it also can't account for what a wall or floor is hiding until it's opened up, which is what contingency budgeting is for - unpredictability.