GS Renovation works on lofts in Kentish Town, on the Victorian terraces running up NW5 towards Hampstead Heath. A large share of these houses have been split into flats, so the first question is whether the roof space is actually yours to convert. Where it is, we coordinate the engineer and manage Camden Council building control.
Houses, converted flats and who owns the roof
Kentish Town has as many converted flats as it has whole houses, and the difference decides everything. In a top floor flat the loft void is usually retained by the freeholder, the stair has to be carved out of your own floor area, and the building's fire strategy covers every dwelling, not just yours. Without freeholder consent and a licence to alter it cannot proceed, and in many NW5 buildings it is not achievable at all. We say so at the survey rather than after a deposit.
On a freehold house the picture is better. Ridge height is the first check, roughly 2.2m to 2.4m from the top of the existing ceiling joists, then the closet wing, which lets an L-shaped dormer wrap the corner and give you a bedroom plus a bathroom. Where the rear roof is visible or the house sits in a conservation area, a mansard is often what Camden will accept instead, at roughly £70,000 to £100,000 or more on indicative 2026 London ranges.
Party wall duties and Camden Council consents
A mid-terrace loft in NW5 has party walls on both sides, and the steel beams that carry the new floor and the dormer bear into them on padstones. That is notifiable work under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996. The duty to serve notice on each adjoining owner sits with you as the building owner, and it is worth doing early because the notice periods are fixed. We prepare the structural drawings and the method information your surveyor will ask for.
Much of Kentish Town falls within conservation areas where permitted development rights for lofts are withdrawn, and Camden Council uses Article 4 directions as well. Where those apply, a planning application is unavoidable and the design has to satisfy a conservation officer. Building regulations apply in every case, covering the protected stair route and fire doors, the stair geometry, the engineer-designed floor and steel, and insulation and ventilation.
- Dormer cheeks, flat roof and leadwork detailed to last
- Rear dormers to win full head height across the new floor
- Mansard conversions where planning will not accept a dormer
- Structural steel sized by the engineer and set on padstones
- En suite plumbing, drainage and mechanical extraction
The GS Renovation Difference in Kentish Town
Kentish Town owners choose GS Renovation because we tell you early whether the job is possible, and if it is, we run it end to end. That means coordinating the structural engineer and any architect, installing the steelwork, preparing your party wall notices, managing Camden Council building control and finishing the rooms. We are fully insured, you get one dedicated project manager, and the founder brings 30+ years of hands-on experience to NW5 roofs.
- A dedicated project manager from first survey to handover
- Interlinked mains alarms fitted and certified
- Party Wall notices prepared for steels bearing into a shared wall
- New floor structure carried on steel, never on the old ceiling joists
- Paperwork and certificates handed over for when you sell
- Fully insured, with cover in place on every site