real cost to fully refurbish / renovate in London

[kokos1]

Hi, we’re going to buy a flat and we’re just trying to figure out how much will it cost to refurbish it. We’d like to move a few walls, change flooring, change windows, doors, rebuild stairs, change kitchen, en suite and bathroom. Hopefully that’s it. It’s flat in Victorian house in London, about 110sq.meters. Thanks

Ahh forgot one thing… Adding underfloor heating too.

Hi OP, are you sure you can do all that in a flat? There are normally quite strict rules on what you can do to ensure the structural safety of the other flats? If you can, I am not sure you are getting much change from £80k depending on spec.

I'd say 100k minimum but obviously it depends on the standard of materials and finish. A new kitchen alone could run you 50k if you are going high end..

Read your lease very carefully before you do anything! Do you have a share of freehold? You will need the freeholder / other freeholders agreement for any of this...

It’s share of freehold. I’ve never thought of this. Can the other freeholder really block my internal refurbishment work?

@kokos1 - you will have to check the flat lease but I would be very surprised if they couldn’t. Have you told your solicitor of your plans? They may be able to explain the relevant parts to you. Share of freehold on a flat is not the same as owning the freehold on a house.

Flats also do not have permitted development rights like houses do so need planning permission for a lot of things houses wouldn’t. You may need to factor that into your plans as well as the other freeholder.

I wouldn't worry if it is share of freehold as I think they can only block on some kind of reasonableness standard and we had no issues when we did something similar. In fact, the other freeholders were very nice about it and happy we were improving the place. They will be concerned about moving walls but as long as structurally OK I can't imagine any issues.

I would say, having done a smaller refurbishment on a flat at least 100k though! Genuinely, everything was about 50% more than I expected it to cost (but I knew nothing), and of course things always come up. The cost of windows alone was frankly astonishing, and this was pre-Covid.

Yes because you're making structural changes - you still have a lease to comply with even if you own a share of freehold, but it may make it easier when you come to discuss with the other freeholder/s. Talk to them first.

It’s the structural parts of the refurb that could cause the issue FYI. Very unlikely they could stop you painting walls but knocking them down and moving staircases could affect the structure of the whole building. There are also often covenants for things like all external windows must be the same etc to provide uniformity but that’s more on purpose built blocks.

What's the cost of the flat? Unless it's 700k plus I wouldn't be paying 50k just for a kitchen!

You will generally have a lease as well as share of freehold and the lease will usually say freeholders’ consent is required for works. But check the exact wording of yours.

£100k is very optimistic IMO. It depends on what you’re intending to choose but, for example, I’ve just been quoted best part of £20k for replacement windows alone (on a house not flat but only the front of the house).

Builder dispute - advice pls

Hi all, I'm looking for some advice on how to deal with a dodgy contractor. We have started a small scale renovation about 4 months ago, moving to temporary accommodation to avoid the dust as I'm pregnant. We agreed on a price (and had 30% of the budget as contingency). The project is now delayed by a month and almost 50% over the budget. We already paid him all our dues but told him to not to exceed the budget any further or provide us with evidence of extra costs. Now, the builder is threatening us to stop the work if we don't keep paying him going forward. TBH I think he's trying to take advantage of our situation now that I'm 8 months pregnant and stuck in a small flat with 2 cats. He knows that we are desperate to move back to our home. Is there a good way to deal with this situation? Arbitration perhaps or maybe starting the legal process to claim damages? Grateful for your advice. We are based in West London if that's relevant. TIA!

I’d start your own thread rather than use this one.

You'll need the written consent of the other freeholder for any structural works - definitely worth getting in writing as you'll need it if you sell.

Also you will need to get planning permission to change windows in a flat if you are not aware (I'm not sure if you do if you are just replacing like for like, but worth being aware of).