Air conditioning in Kensington & Chelsea: what you can install and what the grant covers

Do you need planning permission in Kensington & Chelsea?

For the minority of RBKC homes that are houses outside a conservation area, an air-to-air heat pump is usually permitted development — one unit, under 1.5 m³, meeting the MCS noise standard, not above ground level on a street-facing wall.

But with roughly 70–75% of the borough inside a conservation area, most installs here start from the assumption that street-visible placement is off the table. The council publishes its own application checklist for air source heat pumps. Cooling-only air conditioning does not qualify for the national heat-pump permitted-development route, so check the proposal with the council. Rule of thumb for RBKC: plan for the rear elevation, a lightwell or an internal courtyard, and let your installer handle the paperwork.

Conservation areas in Kensington & Chelsea

Ladbroke, Chelsea, Holland Park, Queen's Gate — 38 areas in all, covering the stucco terraces and garden squares the borough is famous for.

Inside them, permitted development doesn't apply to any unit on a wall or roof fronting the street, and listed buildings (there are around 3,800) need listed building consent on top of planning permission. This sounds daunting; in practice rear and concealed placements are approved routinely, and a good installer will design for that from the first site visit.

Flats and leaseholds

About 83% of RBKC households live in flats — mansion blocks, converted townhouses and mews. A block of flats can use the national permitted-development route for an air-source heat pump if every Class G limit and condition is met. Check the exact proposal with the council and obtain any required freeholder licence.

Renters: the grant belongs to the property, so share your checker result with your landlord — it's their £2,500 too.

The £2,500 grant in Kensington & Chelsea

Here's the borough's quiet secret: 14% of RBKC households — one of the highest rates in inner London — heat with electricity only. Behind the stucco fronts are thousands of flats on panel heaters and storage heaters.

The £2,500 air-to-air grant can apply to an eligible residential installation replacing either fossil-fuel or non-heat-pump electric heating. These electric-heated homes can be good candidates, but the grant is not limited to them. Your MCS-certified installer claims the voucher through Ofgem for you and takes it off the bill.

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