Flat Refurbishment Lewisham

Flats make up 60% of Lewisham's homes, so flat refurbishment covers the larger share of the borough's housing. The flats range from those carved out of Victorian terraces to post-war estate blocks and newer buildings, with 17% of all Lewisham homes built in 2000 or later. Each one shares walls, floors and a front door with neighbours, so the lease, the managing agent and the block's rules shape the job as much as the finishes. We plan around the consents, access and noise first, then renew the flat inside its footprint.

For Lewisham, published UK averages put a full flat refurbishment at £33,000 to £48,000 and a basic one, with budget kitchen and bathroom fittings, at £15,000 to £18,000, and London flats usually cost more (Checkatrade and MyJobQuote, 2026). GS Renovation Ltd, a building contractor based in Potters Bar, does the work in Lewisham: we refurbish the flat within the terms of your lease and licence to alter, protect the common parts throughout, and a registered electrician certifies the new consumer unit and circuits.

Which kind of Lewisham block your flat sits in

Lewisham's flats come from three different eras, and each one sets the problems. With 34% of the borough's homes built before 1919, a flat may be in a converted house, where the floor between you and the flat below is often old joists and lath with little sound or fire protection. Post-war blocks (45% of all homes, houses included, date from after 1945) bring concrete floors, communal heating in some cases and a freeholder with firm rules on alterations.

Newer blocks are a third type. With 17% of Lewisham homes built in 2000 or later, a flat refurbishment can mean a building only a couple of decades old or newer, where the developer's specification, the managing agent's handbook and any remaining warranty all limit what can change. In the tallest blocks, the Building Safety Act makes the Building Safety Regulator the building control body for work in a higher-risk building, so check the building's status with the agent before any design work. Work done under a competent person scheme, such as a rewire, does not need the Regulator's approval.

Housing in Lewisham

For Lewisham the Council Tax list gives about 133,910 homes; by type 60% flats and 40% houses, by age 45% post-war, 18% interwar and 34% older than 1919.

Refurbishing a leasehold flat in Lewisham without upsetting the block

Six in ten Lewisham homes are flats, and a flat refurbishment starts with the lease rather than the tools. Leases differ: some bar alterations, some need the landlord's licence to alter, and some allow non-structural work. Where consent is needed, moving a kitchen or taking up floors are the usual triggers. The managing agent may ask for drawings, method statements and set working hours before issuing it. Allow time for this, and do not order materials until the licence is signed.

Floors are a frequent sticking point in a Lewisham flat. Replacing carpet with hard flooring over a timber floor can make footsteps much louder for the flat below, so a lease may require an acoustic underlay or a floating floor build up. Where you move a WC or bath, Lewisham says a building control inspection is needed, so a new bathroom position goes through building control as well as the lease.

Noise, common parts and fire doors inside a Lewisham block

Two sets of hours apply inside a block. Lewisham limits noisy building work to 8am to 6pm on weekdays and 8am to 1pm on Saturdays, with nothing on Sundays or bank holidays. The lease or the agent's rules often narrow that further, for example no drilling before ten. We plan breaking out tiles and chasing walls into the permitted window. We protect the stairs, lift and entrance with boards and sheeting, and carry waste down in bags rather than leaving it in the common parts.

Fire safety in a block is shared. The flat entrance door and the walls and floors that separate your flat from the rest of the building are matters for the freeholder or the responsible person. A new front door or new service holes through a compartment wall need their agreement. Where the building is in a conservation area, Lewisham says flats have no permitted development rights and need planning permission for changes to the exterior, including windows.

Landlord refurbishments in Lewisham, EPC ratings and selective licensing

If you let a Lewisham flat, the refurbishment has a legal floor to meet. GOV.UK says that since 1 April 2020 landlords can no longer let or continue to let properties covered by the MEES Regulations with an EPC rating below E without a valid exemption. In a flat the measures that move the rating are usually heating controls, an efficient boiler or electric heating system, better glazing where the lease allows it and low energy lighting, so we programme those alongside the kitchen and bathroom.

Lewisham's selective licensing scheme came into effect on 1 July 2024 and covers around 20,000 properties. A licence brings property conditions with it, and it applies to privately rented homes in the designated area, so check your address first. The landlord applies for the licence; we carry out the works and hand over the certificates the trades issue. Keeping the licence conditions and the works list side by side avoids a second visit between tenancies.

• Unvented cylinder replacement, notified to building control
• Kitchen renewal within the flat footprint, drained to the shared stack
• Secondary glazing inside windows the lease keeps with the freeholder

VOA Council Tax stock of properties, March 2025, for all 37 statistical areas in Lewisham. Counts rounded by the VOA.

Before committing to flat refurbishment in Lewisham, it is worth looking at bathroom renovation in Lewisham, our Lewisham area guide, flat renovations in London, kitchen fitters in London for flats, how we handle flat refurbishment across London and Engineered Wood or Laminate.

Why Choose GS Renovation in Lewisham

A flat refurbishment needs a builder who treats the neighbours and the managing agent as part of the job. We visit the Lewisham flat, read the relevant lease clauses with you and give a written quotation and a programme the agent can approve. Abdelaaziz Saaid, our founder, has more than three decades on site. A registered electrician certifies the new consumer unit and circuits, and we keep the common parts clean and the noisy days inside the agreed hours so the licence to alter stays in good standing.

• Site left safe and secure at the end of every day
• Kitchens and bathrooms renewed within the existing footprint and drainage
• Fire doors and compartment lines left as the building's fire strategy needs them

Reviewed jobs near Lewisham

1 MyBuilder review from Crofton Park, with each customer's own job title:

• Replace small section of wooden worktop, sink, tap and gas hob, Crofton Park, 17 Apr 2024 (5 out of 5)

Read all 31 on our reviews page.

Checked by Abdelaaziz Saaid, founder and director of GS Renovation Ltd (Companies House no. 14611254).