Air conditioning in Camden: what you can install and what the grant covers
Camden is one of London's most protected boroughs — 40 conservation areas cover much of it, from Hampstead to Bloomsbury, and nearly nine in ten households live in flats. Both things shape how you install air conditioning here. The good news: a wall-mounted air-to-air heat pump — the unit most people call air conditioning — may qualify for the government's £2,500 grant, and because it heats as well as cools, it's treated far more kindly by planning rules than cooling-only air con.
See if the £2,500 grant applies to your home — five questions.
Check my eligibilityDo you need planning permission in Camden?
If you live in a house, usually not. Since May 2025, one air-to-air heat pump (two on a detached house) is permitted development in England, as long as the outdoor unit is under 1.5 m³, meets the MCS noise standard, and isn't mounted above ground-floor level on a wall facing the street.
Cooling-only air conditioning is different — it always needs a planning application, and Camden's planning guidance actively discourages it, only permitting active cooling where you can show it's genuinely needed. A unit that heats first and cools second is the one Camden's rules are designed to say yes to.
Conservation areas in Camden
Camden has 40 conservation areas — including Hampstead, Bloomsbury, Primrose Hill and Highgate — plus more than 5,600 listed buildings.
Inside a conservation area, the permitted development route disappears for any unit on a wall or roof facing the street: you'll need a rear or concealed placement, or a planning application. In a listed building you'll need listed building consent too. A good installer will survey placement options before you commit; Camden's conservation area list and appraisals are on the council's website.
Flats and leaseholds
With around 86% of Camden households in flats — over half in purpose-built blocks and a quarter in converted Victorian houses — this is the section most Camden readers need.
Flats don't get the permitted development rights houses do: expect a planning application via Camden's planning portal, plus your freeholder's consent to fix anything to the outside of the building. If you rent, the grant follows the property — you can share your checker result with your landlord in one click.
The £2,500 grant in Camden
Around one in eight Camden households heats with electricity only — storage heaters and panel radiators in mansion blocks, conversions and ex-council flats.
Those are exactly the homes the £2,500 air-to-air grant is ring-fenced for: it's reserved for properties replacing direct electric heating, not homes with gas boilers. Your MCS-certified installer applies for the voucher through Ofgem and takes £2,500 off the price — there's no form for you to fill in.
See if the £2,500 grant applies to your home — five questions.
Check my eligibilityFrequently asked questions
Do I need planning permission for air conditioning in Camden?
Houses usually don't, if the unit is an air-to-air heat pump that heats as well as cools and sits within permitted development limits. Cooling-only units always need permission, and Camden's guidance discourages them. Flats need an application plus freeholder consent.
Can I install air con in a Camden conservation area?
Often, yes — but not on a wall or roof facing the street without planning permission. With 40 conservation areas covering much of Camden, rear or concealed placements are the usual route.
Can flats in Camden get the £2,500 grant?
Yes, if the flat is replacing direct electric heating such as storage heaters, and the freeholder consents to the external unit. Around 86% of Camden homes are flats, so this is the most common Camden scenario.
Who applies for the grant?
Your MCS-certified installer applies to Ofgem on your behalf and deducts £2,500 from your quote. You never fill in a government form.
Nearby
Useful links
SOURCES
Camden conservation area appraisals (camden.gov.uk)
Camden Planning Guidance: Energy efficiency and adaptation
ONS Census 2021 (E09000007)
legislation.gov.uk GPDO Part 14 Class G
Local information is indicative. Confirm planning and costs with an MCS-certified installer for your address, and check the current Ofgem guidance for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.