How long does it take to fit a new bathroom in a Fulham flat?

By the Fulham BM team — we have fitted bathrooms in Fulham flats, mansion blocks and terraces for over twenty years.
Last updated 16 Sep 2026

Fitting a new bathroom in a Fulham flat takes us much the same time on site as it would in a house — somewhere in the region of two-and-a-half to four weeks from strip-out to sign-off — but a flat has a way of adding time before we ever lift a tool, and it is the consent, the access and the shared drainage, rather than the building work itself, that tend to decide when you will actually be using the room.

How long does a new bathroom in a Fulham flat really take?

The build itself runs to the same clock as a house, assuming the suite stays roughly where it is, and we have written up that day-by-day sequence in our Fulham bathroom timeline guide. What is easy to underestimate with a flat is everything that has to happen first, because the freeholder or managing agent may need to be told, and sometimes to give written consent, before anyone touches the plumbing, and that approval has a habit of sitting quietly on the critical path while you are busy choosing tiles.

Why does a flat take longer to organise than a house?

Mostly because a leasehold flat brings other people into the schedule. Most leases ask you to notify the freeholder before you alter the pipework, some ask for formal sign-off, and until that is in hand there is a limit to how much of the rest can be nailed down — which is why we tend to start that conversation early rather than leave it running alongside the order for the suite.

What is it about a flat that affects the timeline?

A few things that rarely trouble a house. A shared soil stack means that moving a WC or a basin involves tying into drainage the other homes rely on, which quietly narrows where things can go; waterproofing stops being a nicety and becomes essential when there is a home directly below, since proper tanking is as much about protecting your neighbour from a leak as protecting you; and the ordinary business of getting a bath up three flights and a skip's worth of rubble back down takes a little planning, particularly where a lift has its own booking rules. None of it is difficult, but all of it asks for time a house simply does not.

Do you need permission to replace a bathroom in a leasehold flat?

More often than not, yes, at least in some form. Most leases carry an alterations clause covering changes to pipework and waste, and while a straight like-for-like replacement is frequently fine with notice, moving the soil connection or adding underfloor heating can tip it into needing consent — so it is worth a look at the lease early, when a delay costs you nothing more than a phone call. If you are still shaping what you want, our planning guide walks through the handful of things that most often catch people out.

If you are planning a new bathroom in a Fulham flat, send us the building details and we will flag the access and consent questions early, so they are sorted long before they can hold anything up.