Do You Need Planning Permission for an Office Refurbishment?

You usually do not need planning permission for an internal office refurbishment in England, because internal works that do not materially affect the external appearance of a building are generally not development; you often do need Building Regulations approval, your landlord's consent and, for a listed building, listed building consent.

Office Refurbishment London prepares the drawings and information for these approvals as part of our refurbishments and fit-outs, and builds the programme around them.

When does an office refurbishment need planning permission?

Planning permission is generally needed for development, which includes building operations that materially affect the external appearance of a building and material changes of use. For office refurbishments, that typically means:

• External alterations, such as new windows, doors, shopfronts, balconies or cladding.
• Roof or façade plant, such as air conditioning condensers, unless they fall within permitted development rights and conditions.
• Extensions, including mezzanines in some cases. Internal mezzanine floors can need planning permission in some circumstances, so check early.
• Change of use, for example converting offices to residential, or vice versa, though many changes within the same use class do not need permission.
• Conservation areas, where external changes are more tightly controlled.

Purely internal layout changes, decoration, new partitions, ceilings, flooring and services usually do not need planning permission.

Work out a budget for your own floor area, scope and location with our office fit-out cost calculator.

Do you need listed building consent?

If the building is listed, most works that affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest need listed building consent, including many internal works. That can include removing or altering original walls, fireplaces, cornices, doors, panelling and staircases, and fixing new services through historic fabric. Carrying out such works without consent is a criminal offence. Many London offices, especially in Mayfair, St James's, Covent Garden and the City, are in listed buildings or conservation areas, so check the listing before design starts.

When do office works need Building Regulations approval?

Most office fit-outs and many refurbishments involve building work under the Building Regulations. Common areas are:

You can use the local authority building control service or a registered building control approver. Approval is usually arranged by the design and build team. A completion certificate at the end is important evidence for your landlord and for future sales or lettings.

What about the fire strategy?

Every office should have a fire risk assessment, and multi-occupied buildings have a building-wide fire strategy. New partitions and rooms can change escape routes and detection needs, so the strategy usually needs reviewing for a fit-out. In larger projects, a fire engineer prepares a fit-out fire strategy that the landlord and building control review. Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the responsible person must keep the fire risk assessment up to date after works.

What landlord consent do you need?

Most office leases require the landlord's consent for alterations, usually granted through a licence for alterations. The landlord reviews drawings and specifications, and the licence sets out conditions such as working hours, insurance and reinstatement at the end of the lease. Landlords usually charge their surveyor's and legal fees to the tenant. Our guide to what dilapidations are explains why reinstatement clauses in the licence matter later.

If this is relevant to you, see also office relocation.

What health and safety rules apply?

CDM 2015. The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 apply to all construction work, including office refurbishment. The client, principal designer and principal contractor each have duties. A project must be notified to the Health and Safety Executive if it is expected to last more than 30 working days with more than 20 workers working at the same time, or to exceed 500 person-days.

Asbestos. In buildings built before 2000, an asbestos refurbishment survey is required before intrusive work, so that any asbestos is identified and managed safely.

Building rules. Many London buildings have their own rules on working hours, permits for hot works, deliveries and waste.

What about higher-risk buildings?

Since the Building Safety Act 2022, building control for higher-risk buildings in England, broadly buildings at least 18 metres or seven storeys tall with at least two residential units, is overseen by the Building Safety Regulator. Office floors within mixed-use towers that meet the definition can fall under this regime, with longer approval times and stricter controls on changes. Check the building's status with the landlord early.

What happens if you skip approvals?

The consequences can be serious and expensive. Unauthorised works to a listed building can lead to prosecution and an order to put the work right. Building work without Building Regulations approval can lead to enforcement action and make it harder to sell, let or insure the space, because there is no completion certificate. Works without a licence for alterations may breach your lease and add to your dilapidations liability. Getting approvals right at the start is almost always cheaper than fixing problems afterwards.

How long do approvals take?

Planning and listed building consent applications often take around 8 weeks for a decision and can take longer for complex or contentious schemes. Landlord licences commonly take 4 to 8 weeks, longer if the landlord's team is slow or drawings are incomplete. Building control approval normally runs alongside design. Our guide to how long an office refurbishment takes shows how approvals fit into a programme.

Start with a survey

We check the building's listing, the lease, the fire strategy and the building rules before design, so approvals are planned from the start. Request a quote and we will be in touch. For whole-project budgets, see our UK office refurbishment cost guide.

Frequently asked questions

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• Office Fit-Out Cost per Sq Ft and per m² in London (2026)
• Cat A vs Cat B Fit Out: What’s the Difference? (2026)
• How Long Does an Office Refurbishment Take?
• Office Refurbishment Checklist: From Brief to Handover
• Office Refurbishment Cost: London and UK Prices (2026)
• Office Fit-Out Cost Calculator London (2026)
• Office refurbishment and fit-out in London
• Areas of London we cover