Air conditioning in London is rarely difficult because of the equipment. It is difficult because of the building. Flats need planning permission where houses usually do not, leaseholders need a freeholder’s written consent, conservation areas restrict what can go on a visible elevation, and terraced streets leave very few obvious places to stand an outdoor condenser without upsetting a neighbour.
None of that makes a job impossible. It does mean the survey matters more here than anywhere else we work — nearly every London installation that goes wrong goes wrong because someone quoted from a floor plan and discovered the constraints afterwards. This page covers what we install across the capital, what it costs, and the permissions worth checking before you spend anything.
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Get your free quoteWhat we do across London
The same three services, delivered by the same engineers, to domestic and commercial properties alike:
- Installation — single split systems for one room, multi-splits sharing one outdoor condenser across several, and concealed ducted systems for period properties where nothing can be visible.
- Servicing — annual maintenance from around £90 per split system, which is a condition of virtually every manufacturer warranty and the cheapest way to avoid a July breakdown.
- Repair — fault diagnosis and repair on all major brands, whoever fitted the system originally.
Commercial work runs alongside it — offices, retail units and server rooms — and the same team fits air source heat pumps, which matters more in London than people expect: the equipment overlaps almost entirely, so one visit can settle both cooling and heating.
The London-specific problem: permissions
Houses
An outdoor condenser on a house is normally permitted development, provided it meets the conditions on size, siting and noise measured at the nearest boundary. That covers most of the semi-detached and terraced stock across Sutton, Croydon, Merton and Bromley. The exceptions are conservation areas and listed buildings, where a front or side elevation visible from the street will usually need consent.
Flats
Permitted development rights for air conditioning do not extend to flats. In practice that means a planning application, and — if the property is leasehold — written consent from the freeholder or managing agent before that. Both take time. Neither is a reason not to proceed, but both are a reason to start before you have committed to equipment.
What we do about it
We check the position during the survey and tell you which category you are in before the quote is written. Where consent is needed we will say so plainly, including when we think it is unlikely to be granted on a particular elevation. That conversation is cheaper before the units are ordered than after.
We survey before we quote, so the price you're given is the price you pay.
Book a free surveyWhat it costs in London
Broadly £1,800 to £2,600 for a single-room split system supplied and fitted, and £4,800 to £6,500 for a three-room multi-split. London lands at the upper end more often than Surrey or Kent, and the reasons are practical rather than opportunistic:
- Access — upper-floor condensers can need scaffold or a cherry picker, which is a real line item rather than a markup.
- Pipe runs — a condenser at the back of a terrace and an indoor unit at the front is a long run through a building that does not want to be drilled.
- Parking and permits — controlled parking zones and loading restrictions add time to every day of the fit.
- Making good — period plaster and cornicing cost more to reinstate properly than modern plasterboard.
The full cost guide breaks each of these down with 2026 figures.
Boroughs we work in most
We are based in Wallington, so the south London boroughs are where we are fastest and where most of our work is: Sutton, Croydon, Merton, Kingston upon Thames, Richmond upon Thames, Wandsworth, Lambeth, Southwark, Lewisham, Bromley, Greenwich and Hounslow. We also install regularly across Hammersmith & Fulham, Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster, where the work is more often period property, concealed pipework and planning consent than a straightforward wall-mounted split.
We say when travel is a factor. If your postcode makes a same-day breakdown response unrealistic, we will tell you when you call rather than after you have waited in all day.
Questions
Air conditioning in London — common questions
Which parts of London do you cover?
We work outwards from Wallington, so south London is where we are quickest: Sutton, Croydon, Merton, Kingston upon Thames, Richmond upon Thames, Wandsworth, Lambeth, Southwark, Lewisham, Bromley, Greenwich and Hounslow. We also install across Hammersmith & Fulham, Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster, though central jobs need a little more planning around parking and access. If you are north or east of the river, ring and ask before assuming — for an installation we will usually travel, but a same-day breakdown call is a different question.
How much does air conditioning cost in London?
Roughly £1,800 to £2,600 for a single-room split system supplied and fitted, and £4,800 to £6,500 for a three-room multi-split. London sits at the higher end of that range more often than Surrey does, because flats and terraces make the work harder: longer pipe runs, restricted condenser positions, scaffold or cherry picker hire on upper floors, and parking to arrange. Our cost guide breaks down where the money actually goes.
Do I need permission to fit air conditioning on a London flat?
Usually yes, and this is the single biggest difference between London and the rest of our patch. Permitted development rights for an outdoor condenser apply to houses, not flats — so a flat almost always needs planning permission, and if you are leasehold you will need your freeholder or managing agent's written consent as well. Conservation areas and listed buildings add a further layer, which affects a great deal of stock in Kensington & Chelsea, Westminster, Richmond and Wandsworth. We check all of this at survey stage, before anything is ordered.
Where does the outdoor unit go in a terraced house?
Most often on a rear elevation at ground level, on a flat roof over a kitchen extension, or on brackets in a side return. The constraints are noise at the neighbouring boundary, enough clear air around the unit for it to breathe, and a sensible pipe route back to the indoor units. Victorian and Edwardian terraces are the most common London property we work on and they are entirely workable — it just needs deciding at survey rather than on fitting day.
Can you install air conditioning without visible pipework?
In most properties, yes. Pipework can be run in trunking painted to match, concealed in a boxed corner, taken through voids and cupboards, or hidden entirely with a ducted system where ceiling depth allows. Period London properties with cornicing and original plasterwork are where this matters most, and it is worth saying at the survey if a visible run would be unacceptable — it changes the design rather than the price, provided we know early.
How quickly can you attend a breakdown in London?
Same day where an engineer is free, next working day otherwise. South London postcodes are genuinely quick for us. Central London depends on the day and on where the van already is, and we would rather give you an honest next-day slot than a same-day promise that traffic makes impossible.