Flat Refurbishment Tower Hamlets

Flat refurbishment is the main kind of refurbishment in Tower Hamlets, because 90% of the borough's homes are flats. They range from post-war estates to Docklands apartment blocks, with some in converted Victorian terraces, and 45% of all homes were built in 2000 or later. Each type brings its own lease, managing agent and block rules. We renew kitchens, bathrooms, wiring, heating and floors inside the flat, and we plan the job around the neighbours above, below and across the landing.

For Tower Hamlets, 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 Tower Hamlets: 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 Tower Hamlets block your flat is in

The type of block decides the practical questions in a Tower Hamlets flat refurbishment. The borough's housing is described as post-war estates, Docklands apartments and pockets of Victorian terraces, and 83% of homes were built after 1945. An estate flat may have concrete floors and a communal heating system. In a newer Docklands apartment the work is more often the kitchen, bathroom and finishes than the structure. A flat in a converted terrace has timber floors and shares old service runs with the flats around it.

Each of those changes what can be done and how. On a concrete floor, new pipe routes are limited, so a moved kitchen sink may need a pumped waste or a raised floor. In a converted house, lifting boards reveals the ceiling of the flat below, so we protect it before any work starts. In a newer block the landlord often holds the specification for fire-stopping around pipes, and we follow it exactly.

Housing in Tower Hamlets

On the valuation list Tower Hamlets counts about 149,830 homes, 90% flats and 10% houses; 12% predate 1919, 4% are interwar and 83% post-war.

Lease, licence to alter and block rules in Tower Hamlets

Before a Tower Hamlets flat is stripped out, the lease has to be read. A lease will often require the freeholder's consent, called a licence to alter, for changes to walls, floors, kitchens, bathrooms or services, and the managing agent usually handles it. The licence may come with conditions: approved drawings, the contractor's details, working hours inside the block and a deposit against damage to common parts. Getting that paperwork settled first means the programme does not stall halfway through the strip-out.

Inside a block, the managing agent's rules usually set the working day, and they are often tighter than the council's permitted hours because residents work from home above and below. We work to whichever limit is tighter, book the lift for deliveries, cover floors and lift walls in the common parts, and take waste down in bags if there is no skip bay. The noisiest tasks, such as chasing concrete walls for cables, are grouped into as few days as possible and the neighbours are told the dates.

Floors, fire doors and higher-risk blocks in Tower Hamlets

A new hard floor is the change most likely to disturb the flat below in a Tower Hamlets block. Many leases require carpet, or an acoustic underlay rated for the purpose, on floors above other flats, because impact sound from footsteps carries straight down. We fit the underlay the lease asks for and isolate skirtings from the floor so the sound does not bypass it. Leaks are the other risk, so we test new pipework before tiling and seal wet areas properly.

Fire safety in a block is shared. The flat entrance door and the walls between flats and the corridor are generally a matter for the freeholder or the responsible person under fire safety law, so a front door is replaced only with their approval and to their specification. In the taller Docklands towers, a block at least 18 metres or 7 storeys high with 2 or more homes is a higher-risk building. There the Building Safety Regulator, not the council, approves work that needs building control. Some competent person scheme work still needs no Regulator approval, but certain scheme types cannot be used in these buildings, so each item is checked first.

Letting a refurbished flat in Tower Hamlets

A buy-to-let flat in Tower Hamlets has to meet the energy rules before a tenant moves in. Since 1 April 2018 private landlords may not let homes on new tenancies with an EPC rating of F or G unless an exemption applies. Since 1 April 2020 no property covered by the MEES Regulations can be let or continue to be let below E without a valid exemption. The void between tenancies is the time to add insulation, better heating controls and low-energy lighting.

Licensing depends on who lives there. The selective licensing scheme ends with September 2026, and from 1 October 2026 there is no selective scheme, so a flat let to one household needs no property licence. A flat shared by three or more people in two or more households does need one. Five or more sharers need a mandatory licence, unless the flat is in a purpose-built block of three or more flats; otherwise the borough-wide additional licence applies. The landlord deals with the council, and we build to whatever conditions the licence sets.

• Condensation control with extract fans and trickle vents
• Consumer unit replacement from the meter onwards
• Managing agent liaison on working hours, access and the common parts

VOA Council Tax stock of properties, March 2025, for all 34 statistical areas in Tower Hamlets. Counts rounded by the VOA.

Related reading for Tower Hamlets homeowners planning flat refurbishment: bathroom renovation in Tower Hamlets, our Tower Hamlets area guide, flat renovations in London, bathroom fitters in London for flats, how we handle flat refurbishment across London and Underfloor Heating Cost.

Trusted Flat Refurbishment in Tower Hamlets

Refurbishing a flat in Tower Hamlets means working to the lease and the managing agent as much as to the drawings. Most delays in a block come from lift bookings and access, not the trades. We read the licence conditions before pricing, give you a written quotation and a programme that fits the block's hours and lift bookings, and keep one contact on the job. Electrical and gas certificates are handed over when the flat is finished.

• Void periods between tenancies planned to a fixed handover date
• Dust screens and floor protection in occupied homes
• Fire doors and compartment lines left as the building's fire strategy needs them

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