Kitchen renovation in London: how to plan a refit or full remodel

Refresh, refit or full renovation?

• Refresh: new doors, handles, worktops or appliances on sound existing units. Checkatrade’s kitchen renovation cost guide (updated October 2026) suggests this if the units are still sound.
• Refit: a new kitchen in roughly the same layout, so plumbing, gas and electrics stay where they are.
• Full renovation or remodel: a new layout, possibly with an island, moved services or a wall removed.

Checkatrade’s October 2026 guide says keeping the existing layout is one of the simplest ways to control cost, because it avoids major changes to plumbing, gas and electrics.

The usual order of work

1. Planning and design, with measurements and decisions on appliances and services.
2. Any approvals: lease consent, Building Regulations, Party Wall notices.
3. Strip-out and removal of the old kitchen.
4. Structural work, if any.
5. First fix plumbing, gas and electrics.
6. Plastering and making good; flooring if it goes under the units.
7. Fitting units, then templating and fitting worktops.
8. Second fix: sink, taps, appliances, sockets and lighting; gas connection and testing.
9. Splashbacks, tiling, decoration and handover.

Checkatrade’s guide recommends asking for a realistic timeline before work starts, including when you will be without a sink, cooker and other essentials.

The rules that apply

• Electrics: Approved Document P makes a new circuit, a replacement consumer unit, or work in special locations (rooms with a bath or shower, pools and saunas) notifiable. A kitchen is not a special location, so adding sockets to an existing kitchen circuit isn’t notifiable, but it must still be done safely and to standard.
• Ventilation: Approved Document F (Volume 1) gives a minimum intermittent extract rate for a kitchen of 30 litres per second where a cooker hood extracts to the outside, or 60 litres per second where there is no cooker hood or it doesn’t extract outside. It also notes that a recirculating cooker hood on its own doesn’t provide ventilation that complies with Part F. Replacing an extractor fan or cooker hood using the existing cabling doesn’t need to be notified.
• Gas: any gas work must be done by a Gas Safe registered engineer.
• Water: new plumbing must meet the water fittings regulations; a WaterSafe approved plumber can certify compliance.
• Planning: most internal kitchen work doesn’t need planning permission. Listed buildings need consent for internal changes, and a kitchen extension has its own rules. See our sister site’s guide to kitchen extension costs (home-extensions.co.uk, also run by Web Designer Limited).

Knocking through: walls and open-plan

Removing or altering a load-bearing wall is structural work. You will normally need a structural engineer to design the beam and supports, and Building Regulations approval before the wall comes out. If a new beam bears on a wall shared with a neighbour, the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 may apply, which means serving notice before the work starts. In flats, check the lease first: many leases don’t allow structural alterations without consent.

Keeping costs under control

• Decide what isn’t working before changing the layout.
• Set an overall budget first, and keep a contingency for what the strip-out reveals.
• Be clear about who supplies units, worktops and appliances.
• Ask for itemised quotes so you can compare like with like.
• Agree in writing how extra work will be approved and priced.

For the published 2026 figures, see how much a new kitchen costs.

What to check before you hire anyone

• Gas hob or cooker? Disconnecting, moving or connecting a gas appliance must be done by a Gas Safe registered engineer. Ask to see their Gas Safe ID card, and check that the back of the card lists the type of gas work they will do and that it hasn’t expired.
• Electrics. Under Approved Document P, a new circuit (for example, a dedicated cooker or induction hob circuit) or a new consumer unit is notifiable. That work must be self-certified by an electrician registered with an authorised competent person scheme, or signed off by building control. Ask which scheme the electrician belongs to and check their name on that scheme’s own register.
• Written quotes. Citizens Advice recommends getting written quotes from at least three traders. A quote should be a fixed total price, not a day rate, with the work and materials broken down, VAT shown and how long the price is valid.
• Staged payments. Citizens Advice suggests paying in stages, by card rather than cash, and avoiding deposits where you can. If a deposit can’t be avoided on a long job, it advises not agreeing to more than 25%.
• Insurance and identity. Ask for public liability insurance details and, if they employ staff, employer’s liability. Check a limited company on Companies House, and check any TrustMark or trade association claim on the scheme’s own website.
• A written contract with start and finish dates, who supplies what, waste removal, and how extra work will be agreed and priced before it goes ahead.

If you’d like us to pass your kitchen renovation enquiry to an independent contractor who covers your part of London, use the enquiry form. We don’t carry out the work ourselves.

Questions people ask

Related pages

• Kitchen fitters in London
  What a kitchen fitter does (and doesn’t do), the other trades involved, what a quote should show, and the checks to make before you hire.
• New kitchen cost (2026)
  Published 2026 figures for a new kitchen and a full kitchen renovation, the line items behind them, and what changes the price in London.
• Kitchen fitting cost
  Labour-only kitchen fitting costs from published 2026 figures: by kitchen size, per unit, worktops, day rates, and the extras that aren’t included.

Plan your kitchen