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Building in London comes with its own rules: shared walls on almost every terrace, a different council for each borough, permits for anything that stands on the road and limited parking for the vans that bring the materials. Omni Builders works as local builders across London, planning those details from the first survey so the build itself can run without surprises.
As building contractors in London, we take on loft conversions, extensions, basements, renovations and new builds, together with the plumbing, heating, electrics, tiling and decorating that finish them. Most of our work is in east and south-east London, and we take on projects across Greater London too. Find out more about Omni Builders and how we work.
01Local knowledge
Greater London is made up of 32 boroughs and the City of London. Each borough council is the local planning authority for its area and runs its own building control service, highways team and parking rules, so two identical houses either side of a borough boundary can face different local policies. The London Plan, set by the Mayor of London, sits above every borough's local plan.
02Coverage
We work across Greater London, with a focus on five areas in east and south-east London, each with its own page covering local housing, the council and the planning questions people ask there:
Redbridge01
Redbridge, IG1 to IG6.
Open area pageBarking and Dagenham02
Barking and Dagenham, IG11.
Open area pageBarking and Dagenham03
Barking and Dagenham, RM8 to RM10.
Open area pageNewham04
Newham, E6.
Open area pageBromley05
Bromley, BR5 and BR6.
Open area pageElsewhere in London?+
Elsewhere in London? Send us your postcode and a short description of the job, and we will tell you whether we can take it on. You can also see all the areas we cover.
03The London line
Lofts & extensions lineRenovation & outdoor line
These are the projects London's housing most often calls for. Each link goes to our London page for that service.
Stop 01
The usual way to add a bedroom and bathroom to a terraced or semi-detached roof.
Stop 02
A roof addition with a steep rear slope and a flat top, seen on many London terraces. It usually needs planning permission.
Stop 03
Filling the passage beside a terrace's outrigger to make a wide kitchen.
Stop 04
Converting an existing cellar, or digging new space, where a garden or loft is not an option.
Stop 05
Keeping original features while bringing an older house up to modern standards.
Stop 06
Rewiring, replumbing, new heating and new finishes for houses that have not been updated in decades.
Stop 07
Strengthening foundations affected by clay movement or deepened for a basement.
Stop 08
New houses and small blocks of flats on infill and backland plots.
04Planning & permits
The planning questions we are asked most here — answered, then checked for your own house at the free survey.
Permit check01 / 06
Your borough council, or the City of London Corporation in the City. Householder applications for lofts and extensions are decided by the borough, which also decides Lawful Development Certificates and prior approval, and gives dropped kerb consent on borough roads. The Mayor of London is only involved in the largest, strategic applications. We confirm which council covers your address at the survey.
Permit check02 / 06
Usually yes, if the work touches a shared wall or involves digging near a neighbour's foundations. Under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, which grew out of London's own building acts, you serve notice at least two months before work to a party wall, such as cutting in steel beams, and at least one month before excavating within 3 or 6 metres of a neighbour's foundations. If the neighbour dissents, surveyors agree a party wall award before work starts.
Permit check03 / 06
Yes. A skip, scaffold or hoarding that stands on the road or pavement needs a licence from the highway authority first: usually the borough council, or Transport for London on red routes. Where the skip or scaffold can sit within your own front garden or drive, no highway licence is needed. We allow for this in the programme.
Permit check04 / 06
Expect fewer permitted development rights. In a conservation area, roof extensions such as dormers are not permitted development and other alterations are restricted, while an Article 4 direction can remove specific rights, such as changing windows or front gardens. Listed buildings need listed building consent for most alterations, inside and out. We check your address against the council's records before any design work.
Permit check05 / 06
It depends on the borough. Many London streets sit in controlled parking zones, and where they do, councils offer options such as visitor or trade permits and bay suspensions for deliveries and skips. We check what your council offers and build it into the plan, so neighbours are not left without parking unexpectedly.
Permit check06 / 06
It sets the London-wide standards that new homes must meet, alongside your borough's local plan. That includes minimum internal space standards, accessible housing standards and policies that encourage new homes on small sites. Building a new house or block of flats in London needs planning permission from the borough, and we work with architects and designers who prepare the application to those standards.
05On-site practicalities
Structural work, lofts, extensions, basements and conversions need approval from the borough's building control service or a registered building control approver (formerly an approved inspector). We arrange the inspections and hand over the completion certificate.
Thames Water is the sewerage undertaker across London. Building over or near a public sewer, which often runs behind terraced houses, needs Thames Water's approval first.
UK Power Networks runs the electricity network in London. New connections for new homes, and upgrades to an existing supply, are arranged with them.
Many London councils run licensing schemes for private rented homes, so landlords should check whether one applies before refurbishing or re-letting.
Gas work is carried out by Gas Safe registered engineers, as the law requires, and notifiable electrical work is certified through one of the routes the building regulations allow.
06Service directory
Every service we offer is available across Greater London. Choose a service to see how we carry it out in London.
Boilers and heating17
07Your journey
Five stops from your first message to the certificates in your hand — with one project manager the whole way.
01Step
Call, WhatsApp or use the contact form, with your postcode and photos if you have them.
02Step
We visit, check the structure, access, drainage and parking, and confirm which council and approvals apply.
03Step
You receive a quote showing what is included and how payments are staged, with an outline programme.
04Step
Planning or a Lawful Development Certificate where needed, building regulations, party wall notices and any highway licences, in place before work starts.
05Step
One project manager runs the site and the trades, then we arrange sign-off and hand over the certificates.
08Ask the local team
Real questions from homeowners in London, answered the way we would answer them on the phone.
Do you cover my part of London?
We work across Greater London, with a focus on Ilford, Barking, Dagenham, East Ham and Orpington. For anywhere else, send us your postcode and a short description of the job and we will confirm whether we can take it on.
Do you work for landlords and letting agents?
Yes. We carry out refurbishments between tenancies, repairs, landlord gas safety certificates and electrical maintenance for rented homes, and agree access arrangements with tenants in advance.
Can you handle the drawings and planning application?
Yes. We tell you at the survey which route your project needs and prepare the drawings for lofts and extensions, and we work with architects and designers on larger schemes such as new homes. If you already have plans, we can price and build from them.
Do you take on small jobs as well as large projects?
Yes. Alongside conversions and extensions we take on single jobs such as a boiler service, a leaking pipe, a new consumer unit or a room that needs redecorating.
Is the site survey free?
Yes. The survey is free and there is no obligation to go ahead. After the visit you receive an itemised written quote.
Can you do several jobs at the same time?
Yes. A loft or extension can be planned together with a new bathroom, rewiring or new heating, so each trade works in the right order under one project manager, with one set of permits and one period of disruption.
Start in London
Tell us what you are planning and where you are in London, and we will arrange a free site survey and send you an itemised written quote.
Or use our contact form.
