The London Renovation Timeline: What to Expect from Brief to Handover

One of the most common questions we hear from clients is: "How long will this take?" It is a reasonable question, and it deserves a straight answer — not a vague shrug about how "every project is different."

Every project is different, but the stages are predictable. This guide walks through a realistic timeline for a major residential renovation in London. The exact durations vary, but the sequence is almost always the same, and understanding it helps you plan your life around the project rather than letting the project plan your life for you.

Stage 1: Brief and feasibility (2–4 weeks)

The process begins with a detailed brief. Before any design work starts, your project team needs to understand what you want to achieve, your budget, your timeline, and any constraints — access, neighbours, the condition of the existing building.

At this stage, we carry out a feasibility assessment. This involves:

• —An initial site visit to assess the property's condition
• —A review of any existing drawings and surveys
• —A preliminary look at planning constraints — conservation area status, listed building designation, permitted development rights
• —An honest assessment of what the brief is likely to cost and how long it is likely to take

If feasibility reveals that the brief significantly exceeds the budget, or that planning constraints rule out the intended works, it is better to know now than after three months of design work.

Stage 2: Design and planning (8–20 weeks)

This is the most variable stage, primarily because planning applications take as long as they take.

Design development (4–8 weeks) covers concept design, spatial planning, material selections, and the iterative process of refining the brief into a buildable scheme. For complex projects — particularly listed buildings or conservation area properties — more rounds of design development may be needed.

Pre-application advice (2–4 weeks, if used) is worth taking for any application that involves uncertainty. Most London boroughs offer pre-application meetings with planning and conservation officers. We discuss the principle of the scheme and get an informal steer before committing to a formal application. This adds time but significantly improves certainty.

Planning application (8–13 weeks from submission) is the most common source of delay in London renovation projects. The statutory determination period is 8 weeks for a householder application, 13 weeks for a major application. In practice, many London boroughs are operating beyond statutory timescales. Some applications are decided faster; applications involving contentious schemes, listed buildings, or active objections take longer.

For works to listed buildings, listed building consent is required in addition to any planning permission, and runs in parallel.

For projects that do not require planning permission — purely internal works, or developments entirely within permitted development — this stage is much shorter. You still need building regulations approval, but you can typically start design and begin building regulations submission simultaneously.

For more on the approvals landscape, see our guides on building regulations vs planning permission, conservation area rules, and listed building renovation.

Stage 3: Technical design and procurement (4–8 weeks)

Once planning is resolved, the design moves to technical stage: detailed drawings, structural calculations, specifications for every element of the build. This package forms the basis for building regulations submission and for contractor pricing.

Building regulations submission runs in parallel with the later stages of technical design. For a Full Plans application (which we recommend for all but the most straightforward projects), approval typically takes 5–8 weeks.

Contractor procurement — if you are not using a design-and-build firm — involves preparing a tender package, issuing it to contractors, receiving and reviewing tenders, and negotiating the final contract. Allow 4–6 weeks for a properly run tender process. Rushing this stage tends to produce poorly understood tenders and disputes later.

Party wall process — if your works are notifiable under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, notice must be served and the notice period must run (1–2 months) before notifiable works can begin. Critically, party wall notices should be served at the earliest possible opportunity — often during the design stage — so that the notice period runs concurrently with design and procurement rather than delaying the build start. See our Party Wall Act guide.

Stage 4: Pre-construction (2–4 weeks)

Before work starts on site, there is a defined pre-construction period:

• —Site setup — hoardings, welfare facilities, materials storage
• —Procurement of long-lead items — bespoke joinery, specialist stone, made-to-measure ironmongery can take 8–16 weeks to arrive; these are ordered during this stage (or earlier)
• —Detailed programme agreed and issued to all parties
• —Party wall Awards finalised (if applicable)
• —Building control notified and first inspection booked

For works in central London, particularly in managed buildings or areas with restricted access, the logistics of site setup require more time and coordination than in other markets.

Stage 5: Construction (variable)

Build duration depends on scope. Rough benchmarks for London residential projects:

These figures assume uninterrupted access, no significant unforeseen structural issues, and competent multi-trade management. In London, access constraints, building management restrictions, and the condition of older properties regularly extend programmes.

The most common single cause of programme overrun is unforeseen structural condition — work exposed once you open up a Victorian or Georgian building that was not visible during survey. A good contractor builds float into the programme for this. A good client accepts that it is a feature of working with old buildings, not a failure of project management.

Stage 6: Snagging and completion (2–6 weeks)

In the final weeks of the build, the focus shifts from construction to finishing and snagging. A snag list captures all outstanding items — minor defects, adjustments, and incomplete works — that need to be addressed before handover.

A well-managed snagging process involves:

• —A formal snagging inspection, typically carried out by the project manager
• —A written snag list with photographic references, responsibility assignments, and target dates
• —Progressive close-out of items with sign-off at each stage
• —A final inspection confirming all items are resolved before keys are handed over

For a major project, the snag list typically contains 80–200 items at initial inspection. This is normal. The measure of a contractor is not the length of the initial snag list — it is how efficiently and thoroughly those items are resolved.

The building control completion certificate is issued once all work is signed off. This should be received and filed before you consider the project complete.

The full picture: a worked example

For a large whole-house renovation of a 5-bedroom Victorian terrace in a conservation area:

• —Brief and feasibility: 3 weeks
• —Design and planning (including planning application): 18 weeks
• —Technical design, procurement, party wall: 8 weeks
• —Pre-construction: 3 weeks
• —Construction: 40 weeks
• —Snagging and completion: 4 weeks

Total: approximately 76 weeks from first meeting to handover — roughly 18 months.

This is not an unusual timeline for a large, complex project in prime central London. Clients who expect a major renovation to be complete in six months are, in almost every case, disappointed. Those who plan for a realistic programme and build their lives around it — arranging alternative accommodation for the full build period, for instance — have a much better experience.

Planning your life around the project

Practical considerations for the build period:

• —Decanting. For a full-house renovation, you will need to vacate the property for the entire build period. This is true even if you intend to live in part of the house during works — in our experience, attempting to occupy a property during a major renovation extends the programme, increases costs, and makes everyone miserable.
• —Storage. High-quality furniture and personal effects need proper storage during works, not a corner of the site. Budget for climate-controlled storage for valuable items.
• —Utility disconnections. Gas, electricity, and water will be disconnected at various stages. Plan around this if you are in an adjoining property or flat above.
• —Neighbour communication. We recommend a letter to all immediate neighbours before works start, setting out the programme and the site contact details. This does not eliminate complaints, but it reduces them significantly and demonstrates professionalism.

If you are planning a major renovation in London and would like an honest assessment of what the timeline is likely to be for your specific project, contact us. You can also see our portfolio for examples of projects we have delivered.