Home Improvements · South LondonWhat a full house renovation costs in London
Three honest bands for whole-property work, what separates them, and the professional and statutory costs that sit outside the build figure and still have to be paid.
The bands we work to
Indicative bands for the complete job, not for units or fittings alone. Where a property lands depends more on scope than on floor area.
These are the same figures the estimator uses. A confirmed, itemised quotation follows a free walkthrough — nothing here is a quote.
Why two similar jobs quote differently
On whole-property work the spread is wider than on single rooms, because more of the budget sits in things you never see.
How much structure moves
The clearest divider between the bands. A renovation that keeps the existing plan is a sequencing exercise. One that removes walls, extends, or converts a loft brings in structural engineering, beams, foundations, building control, party wall agreements and often planning permission — and every one of those has both a cost and a lead time.
Services: rewiring, plumbing and heating
A full rewire, a new consumer unit, new heating and new pipework throughout typically account for a large share of a whole-house budget and leave nothing visible behind them. This is where under-priced quotes are usually under-priced.
Property age and condition
Period stock in South London brings damp, failed plaster, undersized or rotten joists, old rubber or lead-sheathed wiring, and roofs at the end of their life. On a whole-house job there are more of these and less chance of avoiding them.
Specification: joinery, flooring and tiling throughout
Small per-unit differences compound. Joinery, flooring, ironmongery, sanitaryware and tiling repeated across eight rooms move a total far more than the same choices in one.
Consents and designations
A listed building, a conservation area, the Dulwich Estate scheme of management or a leasehold licence to alter all add professional fees and, more importantly, calendar time. Time on a whole-house job is cost, because the property is generally unoccupied.
Whether you are living in it
Working around an occupied home means dust protection, staged handovers, temporary kitchens and bathrooms, and slower progress. It is often the right call for a family, but it is not cheaper.
What is in the number, and what is not
Normally included
Planning and programme, strip-out, structural work to the agreed design, full first and second-fix electrics and plumbing, heating, plastering, kitchen and bathrooms, flooring and joinery, decoration throughout, and a final snag list worked through with you.
Normally separate
Architect and structural engineer fees, planning and listed building applications, building control fees, party wall surveyors, leasehold licence-to-alter costs, scaffolding on some jobs, and appliances and loose furniture.
Held as a contingency
On whole-property work in period stock, a contingency is not padding. Opening up an old building reliably finds something, and the honest way to handle it is a stated allowance with variations approved in writing as they arise.
More on how we quote and sequence a job: how we work. Related: Full home renovations · Renovating a Victorian house in London.
Full house renovation costs: common questions
How much does it cost to renovate a whole house in London? +
As a ballpark for South London: a one or two-bedroom flat typically runs £70,000–£120,000, a three or four-bedroom house £120,000–£180,000, and a large or structurally complex project £180,000–£280,000. Those are build figures; professional and statutory fees sit outside them.
How long does a full renovation take? +
It depends entirely on scope, which is why we will not quote a start date without a programme. A flat renovation with no structural change is a matter of months; a house with an extension and a loft conversion is considerably longer, and much of that time is consents and lead times rather than work on site.
Should I move out? +
For a whole-house renovation, usually yes, if you can. It is faster, cheaper and safer, and it avoids living with dust and without a kitchen for a long stretch. Where moving out is not possible, the job gets staged into zones with temporary facilities — workable, but it extends the programme.
What contingency should I hold? +
Enough that finding something does not stop the job. Period property in South London reliably produces at least one unwelcome discovery once it is opened up, and a project with no contingency turns that into a dispute instead of a decision. We set the allowance with you at planning stage and price variations as they arise.
Want a figure for your own property?
The estimator gives an indicative ballpark in four questions. A confirmed quotation follows a free site visit.