To answer how much does a house renovation cost in London is like to answer what’s the safest car in the world. It all depends.
At first one should consider what options are feasible and what value it can bring to the property(if the property is treated as an asset). Small and cosmetic renovation can be fairly cheap and usually include some decoration, kitchen or bathroom renovation . Overall, this shouldn’t be more than £500-£1000 +VAT per square meter , however final price can be affected by materials used and any bespoke items one wishes to purchase.
Phase 1 – professional fees: architect, interior designer, structural engineer etc
It starts to be more complex and of course dearer, when structural works are added and the footprint of the property increases through various add ons like extension or loft conversion. Your initial cost would start with any professional fees i.e. hiring an architect and/or interior designer, structural engineer, quantity surveyor or any other specialist consultant. This would be crucial stage of the entire process as choosing the right people will help you with navigating through all the pitfalls and struggles of house renovation .Good architect or interior designer would also advise you on the possible scenarios and cost involved with each of them. Cost of an architect or interior designer can vary and like with the general cost depends on the type and scale of the project. Most common approach is percentage fee of total construction cost. This can be anything from 7.5% from high value projects to even 20 % of overall costs to renovate . Apart from the percentage fee we can distinguish two other major ways of charging for the work required i.e. lump sum or time charge/hourly rate. These can be very common at the initial stages, when the concept is developed or for any additional items like joinery design, bedroom renderings etc . It’s not uncommon that people appoint architects only for specific stages of the projects e.g. planning application and decide do project manage themselves, thus reducing the professional fees at a cost of devoting their own time(not always cost efficient, especially with bigger and more complex projects). Currently we can distinguish 7 RIBA plank of works stages- for more information please visit : RIBA
With more substantial renovations you would also have to appoint structural engineer to complement the architects works and similar to design fees the cost of structural engineer depends heavily on the scale and complexity of the project. Majority of structural works are priced on hourly basis and the rate can vary from £100 per hour to £300 or more per hour. Then there are additional fees for any site visits or reports, therefore total cost for structural engineer works can reach ‘000s on big projects .
Although some architectural practices offer interior design services, most of the high value projects do include independent interior designer to assist with finishes. Most of the interior design professionals charge either percentage fee of total renovation cost or hourly rate. The former can be anything between 6% to 20% whereas the latter is usually somewhere between £75-£150 per hour, which of course can be much higher when hiring a well known design team.
Phase 2 – hiring a contractor and budgeting
Once you have this stage behind you, then it’s time to budget the project. In 2024 cost of renovation would oscillate between £2,000 to £5,000 or more per square meter , with the former being the budget option and latter the high end. You shouldn’t treat those figures as constant as they can differ depending on the complexity of the renovation project. Basement and full scale renovation in Mayfair or Notting Hill would not be the same as full scale renovation in Tooting or Hounslow as contractor would need to add various other factors to their price e.g. logistics, access restrictions, building restrictions( conservation area, listed buildings etc) , therefore £3000 per square meter in Ealing could equal £5000 per square meter in Chelsea . This is of course not always the case, but one should always consider the state of the property , complexity of the project and the end goal when allocating the funds, regardless of the area .
To sum up, there is no such a thing like average cost of home renovation, but as a rule of thumb in London area a £2,500-£3,500 per square meter cost should allow us to achieve a good quality finish and if one is willing to cherry pick various trades and materials, then it can lower that price down or achieve higher finish within that budget. During the years, we have also noticed a pattern that people tend to underestimate the cost of construction and quite often allocate the funds to the parts where the money could be spend better elsewhere. It’s fair to say ,and that’s what we always advise, you should never cut the cost on services and if there are any financial constraints, keep the finishes like painting or some fixtures or 2nd fix joinery simple, as these can be fairly easy to amend/ replace later, whereas to change a leaking pipe or corroded wire most of the times is not that straightforward. We would also recommend setting aside contingency sum and depending on the value of the project, anything between 10% to 20% seems reasonable to cover any unforeseen events.
Finally, the items to consider when planning for renovation are the cost of alternative accommodation, mortgage, utility bills, any necessary licenses and insurance polices.