Frequently Asked Questions

Airspace development is the transformation of your building’s roof space into new residential living space. You can explore our dedicated airspace development page for more information on the subject.

Airspace development benefits both the existing owners in the building and the wider community. Not only does it increase leasehold values and improve your building, but it alleviates the pressure on the local housing issue in London. We cover more of the benefits on our dedicated page.

Ascertaining the suitability of a building for airspace development is something we specialise in. Speak to us about your property and we’ll go through the criteria with you, some of which are outlined on our dedicated page.

A full planning application is required when planning to add additional dwellings to a roof of a building. At London Penthouse we have strong relationships with experienced and well renowned planning consultants that can give professional advice on what route may be best to go down in order to receive a positive planning application decision.

The length of the rooftop development process depends on multiple factors including the size of the development and how many units, common site constraints, and the extent of works needed to refurb and uplift the common parts of the existing building.

The new structure will be independent of the existing roof meaning there will be no noise transfer to the existing top floor apartments. Our construction methods naturally mean that there is a void of approximately 500mm between the existing roof and our new floor preventing any noise transfer through the existing roof. All our new properties are required to pass acoustic tests to confirm the acoustic integrity of the new floors and party walls.

Yes, it is possible for all residents within the existing block to continue living in their property during the development. In some instances, we will carry out the majority of the development off site through modular construction, then transport the apartments to site to be assembled on the roof, with minimal disruption to residents.

On developments where modular construction is not permitted, we ensure we do our best to mitigate noise and disruption to residents as much as possible, making sure noisy works are kept within authorised hours and communicating notices of noisy works on time to all leaseholders.

Airspace development is a far more sustainable and environmentally friendly method of construction than traditional methods. We utilise sustainable materials in all our construction; our modular structural framing system utilises steel that is 98% recycled and all our timber used for internal joinery, floors and doors is sourced from sustainable forests and is PEFC or FSC certified.

As we utilise existing buildings and their structure for support, we avoid digging and pouring large concrete foundations, this avoids a significant amount of vehicle traffic to and from site, reducing both embodied and operational carbon emissions as well as noise and dust disruption to the local area.

As we extend existing buildings to create new properties, we also avoid the disruptive and polluting demolition process which sends tons of material to landfill. This also allows us to retain and protect the existing streetscapes and facades of historic buildings in London whilst still providing much needed new homes.

While not absolutely guaranteed, the existing properties will likely increase in value. This is because we also uplift other areas of the building to benefit everyone, and with more high-end properties in the same area, we often see an increase in leasehold values.

Adding dwellings via a roof extension can ultimately reduce service charges for all leaseholders in the existing block as there will be more residents to divide the costs with.

Modular, or off-site construction, involves carrying out the majority of new construction work in a factory setting away from the site where the final properties will actually be situated. This reduces the amount of time spent on site as apartments arrive to site 90% complete and are craned into place in a matter of days.

Modular construction is not only safer due to less work taking place at extreme heights, but it also allows for the ability to construct portions of the development off site. This, in turn, means less disturbance for residents and mess throughout the process of your development.

Our construction materials and methods will be bespoke to each individual development. We utilise fire-resistant structural framing and cladding.

We use a wide range of materials, including timber from certified sustainable forests. We never use flammable cladding on any of our developments, preferring only tried and tested materials like zinc and copper. To learn more about the materials we use and how we work to complement the existing building, talk to our team today.

We work with our fire consultants and building control inspectors to ensure that every development we carry out complies with the latest fire safety regulations. All of our projects utilise non-flammable/non-combustible materials and cladding. As part of our development, we would also carry our fire safety improvement works to the existing building, these would include, but not be limited to; new communal fire alarm systems, upgrading fire doors and lobbies and installing new smoke ventilation windows.