Services / Flat conversions
Flat conversions
Drawings and applications for converting a house into flats, or reconfiguring existing flats, for owners and landlords.
- FreeInitial consultationA conversation about your project, and a first view of what's possible, before any fee is agreed.
- FixedFee for each stageEvery stage is priced in writing before it starts. No hourly billing.
- 3DSee the design firstYour design is shown in 3D before it's submitted, while changes are still easy.
- FreeResubmissionIf planning is refused, we revise and resubmit at no extra design fee. Conditions
What we draw
House into flats
Usually needs planning permission and must meet space and amenity standards.
Flat alterations
Internal changes to a leasehold flat, often with the freeholder's licence to alter.
Space standards
New flats in London must meet the nationally described space standard, so we test the layout against it before you commit.
Sound and fire separation
Floors and walls between flats need upgrading for sound and fire, and each new flat needs its own protected escape route.
Flat amalgamations
Combining two flats into one home, which usually needs planning permission.
Before you start
What we need, and what sits outside our fee
- From you: the property address, a few photos, and any existing drawings, planning approvals or surveys you have. We arrange the measured survey with you.
- Not in our fee: council planning and building control fees, and specialist reports a council asks for, such as a tree survey or flood risk assessment, unless your fee proposal lists them.
- Your fee proposal sets out exactly what is included for your project before any work starts.
- Want it built too? Green Code Developers, the group's construction company, can build it under a separate contract, with one project lead throughout. How design and build works.
Timescales
How long it takes
We give you a timetable for our drawings in your fee proposal. Council and building control timings are the statutory or target periods and start once an application is validated.
- Planning decision
- Target of 8 weeks after validation
- Building regulations full plans
- 5 weeks, or up to 2 months if you agree
- Sound testing
- Before completion, for each new flat
Projects
Flat conversions we have designed
Common questions
Do flats need the freeholder's consent?
Usually. We can prepare the drawings the freeholder needs for a licence to alter.
How small can a new flat be?
In London, new flats must meet the nationally described space standard: for example 37 square metres for a one-person studio with a shower room, 50 square metres for a one-bedroom flat for two people, and 61 square metres for a two-bedroom flat for three people, all on one level.
Will the flats need sound testing?
Yes. Flats formed by converting a house need sound testing before building control will sign them off, so we detail the floors and party walls to pass.
Other services
- Free planning check
- House extensions
- Loft conversions
- Upward extensions
- Renovations and internal alterations
- Basement conversions
- Planning permission
- Lawful development certificates
- Pre-application advice
- Building regulations drawings
- Building control applications
- Structural calculations
- Structural surveys and letters of comfort
- Lease plans and licence to alter
- Change of use
- New builds
- Interior design
- 3D visualisation
- Energy and retrofit
- Energy Performance Certificates (EPC)
- Accessible home adaptations
- Commercial fit-outs and shopfronts
- Design consultations
- Party wall surveys
- Build over agreements and drainage
- Planning reports and statements
- Amendments, conditions and regularisation
- Planning appeals
- Conservation areas and listed buildings
- Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL)
- HMO planning and licensing
- Feasibility and site checks
- Measured surveys
- Building surveys
- Drawing reviews and second opinions
- Location and block plans
- Tender and construction support
- Principal designer (CDM and building regulations)
- Cost management
- Project management
- Contract administration
- Design and build
- Turnkey projects
- Landscape design
Where we work
Flat conversions across London
Local planning points for the boroughs closest to our Cricklewood studio: Ealing, Harrow, Brent, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Haringey, Enfield, Barnet, Camden, Westminster, Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea. See all 33 boroughs.