Renovating a Fulham Terrace: A Pre-Build Checklist

Fulham's housing is mostly late-Victorian and Edwardian terraces: two-storey houses with back additions around Parsons Green, Munster Road and Fulham Broadway, and larger bay-fronted houses towards Hurlingham and Bishops Park. Many were split into flats decades ago, and plenty are now being turned back into family houses.

Renovating one of these homes well comes down to the order you do things in. This checklist goes through the questions to answer before you pick a builder: what you own, what the planning rules allow, what the building is hiding, and how to compare contractors.

1. House or flat? Check what you actually own

Start with the legal position.

• Freehold house. You can usually rely on permitted development (PD) rights for things like a rear extension or rear dormer, unless the house is in a conservation area or covered by an Article 4 Direction (see step 2).
• Leasehold flat or maisonette. Flats have no householder PD rights, so external changes need planning permission. Your lease almost certainly needs the freeholder's written consent (a "licence to alter") for structural work, new windows or moving the kitchen and bathroom. Allow time for this, as the freeholder's surveyor may want to review the drawings.
• Converting flats back into a house. Turning two flats back into a single home can need planning permission. Ask Hammersmith & Fulham before you buy or design around it.

2. Conservation areas and Article 4 in Fulham

Hammersmith & Fulham has 44 conservation areas of its own. The ones in Fulham include Barclay Road, Bishops Park, Central Fulham, Crabtree, Fulham Park Gardens, Hurlingham, Moore Park, Parsons Green, Putney Bridge, Queen's Club Gardens, Sands End, Studdridge Street, Walham Green and Walham Grove. Check your street on the council's conservation areas page.

Being in a conservation area affects PD in several ways set out in the government's householder PD technical guidance: no side extensions, no rear extensions of more than one storey, no cladding and no roof extensions under PD.

On top of this, H&F applies Article 4 Directions to specific properties. These can remove rights to change front windows, doors, boundary walls or roofs. The council publishes a list of properties affected by Article 4 Directions. Look your address up before assuming that replacing sash windows or a front wall is straightforward. H&F's planning guidance also sets out its expectations for extensions, dormers and front gardens.

3. What can you add? Extension and loft options

Typical Fulham terrace projects include:

• Side return infill or wrap-around kitchen extension. A single-storey infill can be PD on a freehold house outside a conservation area. Wrap-arounds usually need permission, because both the side and rear limits apply.
• Rear extension. Under PD, up to 3 m deep for a terraced house, or up to 6 m through the larger home extension prior approval process, though not in a conservation area.
• Loft conversion. A rear dormer within the 40 m³ PD allowance for terraced houses, or an L-shaped dormer over the back addition. Not PD in conservation areas.
• Internal reconfiguration. Opening up the ground floor, moving the stairs, adding a bathroom. No planning needed for a house, but building regulations usually apply.

For a PD project, a Lawful Development Certificate (£274 from April 2026; a householder application is £548, per the government fee schedule) gives you written proof that the work is lawful. Our Fulham house extensions page shows the options in more detail.

4. Survey the building before you design

Fulham houses are typically 110 to 140 years old. Before you fix a budget or a design, find out:

• Asbestos. Homes built or refurbished before 2000 can contain asbestos, for example in textured coatings, floor tiles or old boiler flues. The HSE's asbestos guidance explains why it should be identified before any demolition.
• Structure. Look for cracking around bays and back additions, sagging roofs and earlier alterations that removed walls without proper support. London clay and nearby trees can cause movement.
• Damp. Check for failed render, bridged damp-proof courses, blocked airbricks and leaking gutters, which are common causes in solid-walled Victorian houses.
• Drains. A CCTV survey shows the condition and route of the drains, especially if you're extending over them.
• Electrics and plumbing. Older wiring, lead supply pipes and undersized consumer units usually need replacing in a full renovation.
• Party walls. Steels into the party wall, new boundary walls and deeper foundations are all notifiable under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996. Fulham's terraces make this almost certain for extensions and lofts.

5. Building regulations and paperwork

Plan for:

• Building control approval. Through the council or a registered building control approver. Full plans applications are decided within five weeks, or two months with your agreement, according to GOV.UK.
• Energy efficiency. New and renovated elements, such as glazing, walls, roofs and heating, must meet Approved Document L.
• Fire safety. Loft conversions usually need a protected stair, fire-resisting doors and interlinked alarms.
• Health and safety. Under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, a homeowner's client duties normally pass to the contractor, as the HSE's guidance for domestic clients explains. It's still worth knowing who is responsible.
• Certificates to keep. The building control completion certificate, electrical certificates, gas safety records, any LDC or planning decision, and the party wall awards. Your buyer's solicitor will ask for them.

6. Choosing a builder: a checklist

When you compare contractors, ask each one:

1. Can I see a similar finished project nearby? A Victorian terrace renovation is different from a new-build. See our Fulham flat renovation for an example of our local work.
2. Is the quote itemised against the same drawings? Quotes built on different assumptions can't be compared.
3. What's excluded? Look for provisional sums, party wall surveyor fees, building control fees and finishes.
4. How are payments staged? Payments should follow completed work, not run ahead of it.
5. Who manages the site day to day? Ask how often you'll get updates.
6. Which building control route will you use, and who books inspections?
7. What insurance do you hold? Ask for current public liability cover.
8. Is there a written contract and programme? Check what happens if the scope changes.

Our guide on how to choose a renovation contractor in London goes further, including what to put in the contract.

FAQ

Do I need planning permission to renovate a Fulham terrace?

Internal works to a house usually don't need planning permission, but they need building regulations approval if they're structural. Extensions and lofts may be permitted development, except in conservation areas, on flats or where an Article 4 Direction applies.

How do I know if my Fulham house has an Article 4 Direction?

Hammersmith & Fulham publishes a list of the properties affected. Check your address there, and check your conservation area status, before planning changes to windows, doors, front walls or roofs.

Can I extend a flat in Fulham?

Possibly, but flats have no householder permitted development rights, so you'll need planning permission. You'll also normally need the freeholder's licence to alter under your lease.

What surveys should I get before renovating?

Usually an asbestos survey for pre-2000 homes, a structural inspection, a CCTV drain survey, and checks on electrics and plumbing. Party wall issues should also be identified early.

How long does a full renovation take?

It depends on the scope. Allow time before the build for design, any planning or LDC application (up to eight weeks for most), building control approval and party wall notices, which can take one to two months.

Planning a renovation in Fulham?

We renovate and extend homes across Fulham and South West London. Call 07564 041115 or email admin@bluebirdspaces.co.uk to talk through your project.

General guidance, not legal or planning advice. Always confirm with your council and, for flats, your freeholder. Sources checked 4 October 2026.