Flat conversion drawings in Lambeth
A house-to-flats conversion in Lambeth needs planning permission, because using a single dwellinghouse as two or more separate dwellinghouses is a material change of use. Our drawings start from £1,195 for two flats, and the council's own fee is £610 for each additional dwellinghouse.
Fixed fee from £995 drawings + £200 survey (£1,195 total) · all prices
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Why Lambeth treats a split as a change of use
Section 55(3)(a) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 lists the use as two or more separate dwellinghouses of any building previously used as a single dwellinghouse as a material change of use. Lambeth Council therefore needs a full application, and permitted development for the house does not stretch to the split.
Our guide to planning permission for converting a house into flats covers the test in plain terms, and the Act is on legislation.gov.uk.
Conservation areas: where the front elevation gets scrutiny
Our analysis of the MHCLG Planning Data Platform (bulk snapshot retrieved 14 Aug 2026) finds 65 conservation-area entries for Lambeth on the national register. A conversion often changes the street side of a house, with a second front door, a bin store or altered windows, so it is worth knowing early whether the house is inside one.
Lambeth's own conservation area map shows whether your house is in one. Our conservation area extension rules guide explains what a designation changes, and our glossary entry gives the definition.
Our analysis of the Planning Inspectorate Casework Database (released 1 Oct 2026, Casework Database 2609) counts 220 householder appeals in Lambeth decided between 2021 and 2026, and 34% were allowed.
Lambeth's workload and the statutory clock
Our analysis of MHCLG planning application statistics, table PS2 (released 24 Sep 2026, quarters to 2026 Q2) puts Lambeth's decisions on planning applications of every type at 1,793 between 2025 Q3 and 2026 Q2, four quarters in all.
Converting a single house is not major development, so the council has 8 weeks to decide, counted from the day after the application arrives (DMPO 2015, article 34(2)(b)). Before you submit, read Lambeth's validation checklist, the council's own list of the plans and documents an application must include; we draw to it so the set is complete when it goes in.
Lambeth appeals, as a record
Our analysis of the Planning Inspectorate Casework Database (released 1 Oct 2026, Casework Database 2609) counts 220 householder appeals in Lambeth decided between 2021 and 2026, and 34% were allowed. These are householder cases, not conversions, so they show the borough's general appetite for appeal and not what happens to flats. See our planning appeal process guide if you are facing a refusal.
Fees: Lambeth's and ours
Lambeth collects the national planning fee with the application: since 1 April 2026, £610 for each additional dwellinghouse when a single dwellinghouse becomes fewer than 10 (SI 2012/2920, category 12(1)(a)).
Our drawings for a house to two flats, taken through full planning and on to Building Regulations, start at a fixed £1,195. See the flat conversion drawings service and the pricing page.
Sources
Every figure on this page, where it comes from and a link to the original.
| Figure | Source | Link |
|---|---|---|
| £1,195 | DrawingsDirect starting fixed fee for house to two flats drawings (full planning and building regulations), from the published price list | drawingsdirect.co.uk |
| two or more separate dwellinghouses | Town and Country Planning Act 1990 s55(3)(a): using a building previously used as a single dwellinghouse as two or more separate dwellinghouses is a material change of use (source wording: "the use as two or more separate dwellinghouses of any building previously used as a single dwellinghouse") | www.legislation.gov.uk |
| £610 | Fees for planning applications in England from 1 April 2026 (MHCLG, SI 2012/2920 as annually indexed), category 12(1)(a): change of use of a single dwellinghouse to fewer than 10 dwellinghouses, per additional dwellinghouse (source wording: "£610 for each additional dwellinghouse") | assets.publishing.service.gov.uk |
| 1,793 | Our analysis of MHCLG planning application statistics, table PS2 (district open data table) (released 24 Sep 2026, quarters to 2026 Q2) | www.gov.uk |
| 8 weeks | DMPO 2015 art 34(2)(b): decision period for an application that is not major development (source wording: "8 weeks beginning with the day immediately following that on which the application is received") | www.legislation.gov.uk |
| 220 | Our analysis of Planning Inspectorate Casework Database (released 1 Oct 2026 (Casework Database 2609)) | www.gov.uk |
| 34% | Our analysis of Planning Inspectorate Casework Database (released 1 Oct 2026 (Casework Database 2609)) | www.gov.uk |
| 65 | Our analysis of MHCLG Planning Data Platform conservation-area and article-4-direction datasets (bulk snapshot retrieved 14 Aug 2026) | www.planning.data.gov.uk |
Questions people ask
Is splitting a Lambeth house into flats permitted development?
What does Lambeth charge to convert a house into two flats?
What does Lambeth's validation checklist mean for my drawings?
Photographs: Chris Whippet (CC BY-SA 2.0); Tim Green from Bradford (CC BY 2.0).
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