Air conditioning for flats in London
Consent, condenser position and quiet installs, the London flat specialism, from Victorian conversions to new-build towers.
Installing air conditioning in a London flat costs £1,800–£3,000 excluding VAT for a single room, more than a house because the condenser position is harder-won: a balcony, a flat roof with permission, or brackets on an elevation the freeholder controls. Before any of that, your lease almost certainly requires the freeholder's written consent for an external unit. We deal with both problems weekly; the survey establishes what your building can take before you spend anything.
This is for you if
- A top-floor flat that turns into a greenhouse from May to September
- A new-build apartment with floor-to-ceiling glazing and no opening windows to speak of
- The managing agent said 'maybe, send details' and you need someone who speaks their language
- A balcony that could take a condenser if it were done neatly and quietly
- You rent the flat out and summer complaints from tenants keep arriving
- A Victorian conversion where the only outside space is shared
What's included
- Survey covering the two questions that decide flat installs: where the condenser can go, and what the lease says
- A technical pack for your freeholder or managing agent, spec sheets, sound data, fixing method, insurance
- Balcony installations on anti-vibration mounts with condensate managed, not dripped on the neighbour below
- Compact low-sound condensers chosen for close-quarters buildings
- Discreet internal routing, trunking runs planned before drilling, not improvised
- Vacuum test, commissioning, F-Gas certificate and warranty registration
The standard we work to
Freeholder consent (licence for alterations) usually required by the lease; planning permission required for external units on flats, no permitted development applies; F-Gas certified refrigerant work.
| Guide range | £1,800 – £3,000 |
| Typical duration | 1 day, once consents are in place |
| Compliance | Freeholder consent (licence for alterations) usually required by the lease |
Guide ranges for budgeting, excluding VAT. We confirm a fixed price after a free survey; the price we agree is the price you pay.
Price your flats & apartments
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Flats & apartments: what people ask
Do I need my freeholder's permission for air conditioning?
Almost certainly yes, if any part of the system touches the outside of the building, and the condenser must. Most London leases reserve external walls, roofs and often balconies to the freeholder, so an external unit needs a licence for alterations or at minimum written consent. Fitting first and asking later risks a legal requirement to remove the system. We prepare the technical pack that consent requests need, sound levels, fixing details, insurance, because a specific request gets approved far more often than a vague one.
Read the full answerCan I put an air conditioning unit on my balcony?
Technically, usually yes, a modern compact condenser fits on most balconies, mounted on anti-vibration feet with the condensate piped to a drain rather than dripped through the deck. The obstacles are legal rather than physical: the balcony is often demised or controlled by the freeholder, and planning permission applies to external plant on flats. Where consent is granted, a balcony is actually the best position a flat can offer: short pipe runs, easy service access, no scaffolding.
Read the full answerWhat about flats with no balcony or outside space?
Three honest options, in descending order of preference. A condenser on the building's flat roof or an external wall, with freeholder consent, the full solution. A through-wall or window-sealed monobloc unit, which needs only ducting through the wall, genuinely useful where a condenser is impossible, though louder and less efficient. Or conclude the building cannot take it, which we do say. What we will not do is hang an unauthorised condenser on a shared elevation; that ends with the freeholder's solicitors.
Read the full answerWhy does a flat installation cost more than a house?
Access and constraint. The condenser position is rarely at ground level: brackets at height need access equipment, roof positions need safe access and sometimes a crane band, and pipe runs from a far balcony can be double a house's. Add the consent process, surveys, technical packs, sometimes a freeholder's fee, and £200–£400 of extra cost is typical. The flip side: once consents exist, the install itself is still a one-day job.
Read the full answerFlats & apartments across London
The same prices everywhere; what changes is the building. Each area page covers what flats & apartments runs into locally: the roofs, the condenser positions, the consent rules.
Central London
W1, WC1, WC2, SW1, EC1 · Westminster, Camden & the City
North London
N1, N5, N6, NW3, NW5 · Islington, Camden, Haringey & Barnet
South London
SW4, SW11, SW12, SE21, SE22 · Wandsworth, Lambeth, Southwark & Lewisham
East London
E1, E2, E8, E14, E20 · Hackney, Tower Hamlets & Newham
West London
SW3, SW5, SW6, W2, W8, W11 · Kensington & Chelsea, Hammersmith & Fulham, Westminster
Richmond
TW9, TW10, SW13, SW14 · Richmond upon Thames
Planning flats & apartments?
Tell us the rooms and the rough plan. We reply within one working day with an honest cost bracket, then a free survey and a fixed written quote.