Wrap-around extensions in London from £63,000 inc. VAT for 21 m² — £3,000 per m² all-inclusive.
One L-shaped build down the side of your outrigger and across the back of the house, with planning, party wall notices, steelwork and building control managed for you.
A wrap around extension in London starts from £63,000 inc. VAT with Vita Modular for 21 m² (a 7m × 3m footprint), priced at £3,000 per m² all-in. Wrap-arounds in our price guide range from 21 m² to 28 m², and every one is fixed-price before work starts.
A wrap-around extension is an L-shaped extension that does two jobs at once. One leg fills the side return beside the rear outrigger; the other runs across the back of the outrigger and the main house. The result is a single room the full width of the plot and the full depth of both elements, replacing the dark kitchen, the alley and the small back room with one open ground floor.
It is a larger single-storey change than a side return or rear-only extension, so the structure, planning case and neighbour notices carry more weight than on a simple infill. We handle all three as one package. The steel frame and insulated panels for both legs of the L are made at our Warwickshire facility while the foundations are dug, then carried through the house and assembled by our own teams — usually 4–6 weeks on site. If you only need the side strip, our side return extension London page covers that smaller project.
A wrap-around is the right choice when the whole ground floor needs rethinking rather than one room widening. It is not the right choice everywhere, and we will say so when a smaller extension suits your house, garden or budget better.
It reconfigures the whole ground floor. A side infill widens the kitchen; a rear-only build adds depth behind it. The wrap-around does both, which means the plan can be redrawn from scratch — the kitchen can move, a utility or WC can be tucked into the old outrigger, and the back reception can open into the new space.
A full-width room behind the outrigger. The rear leg of the L runs across the entire plot, so the garden end of the house becomes one wide room with glazing along it. Neither a side return nor a narrow rear extension behind the outrigger alone can give that full-width frontage onto the garden.
Three zones, one space. The extra area lets a wrap around kitchen extension hold distinct kitchen, dining and family zones rather than squeezing them into one. Cooking stays in the side leg, the table sits in the corner of the L and the sofa faces the garden — each with its own light.
Light from two directions. Glazing along the rear wall plus optional roof glazing above the side leg brings daylight deep into what was the darkest part of a Victorian terrace. The corner where the two roofs meet is the natural place for roof glazing, and we detail it as part of the design.
When it is not the answer: conservation areas. Some councils resist wrap-arounds where they are not already part of the street's pattern. Hackney's 2026 guidance treats them as unacceptable in conservation areas where they are not the established terrace character. In those streets a side infill or rear extension is the more realistic application.
When it is not the answer: short gardens and budget. The rear leg takes garden depth, and London councils expect a meaningful garden to remain — Hackney, for example, asks for at least half the original rear garden to be kept. A wrap-around also costs more in total than a side return from £36,000 or a 15 m² rear extension from £45,000. If either of those gives you the room you need, it is the better buy.
As at 2026, most wrap-around extensions in London need a householder planning application. The side leg is assessed as a side extension, which falls outside the 3m and 6m rear-extension allowances that let many rear-only builds avoid an application.
Permitted development allows a single-storey rear extension of up to 3m beyond the original rear wall of a terrace or semi, or up to 6m under prior approval. A wrap-around is not a rear-only extension: the leg in the side return extends beyond a side wall of the original house, so the scheme is judged as a side and rear extension together. In most cases that means a householder application, with a national fee of £548 in England from 1 April 2026. In a conservation area there is no fallback — side extensions are not permitted development there and the larger home extension route is unavailable. Planning and design typically take 8–10 weeks.
Hackney adopted its Residential Extensions and Alterations SPD in January 2026. The council's 2026 guidance sets out that, inside its 35 conservation areas, a wraparound is not acceptable where it is not the established character of the terrace — even though an infill beside an original outrigger generally is. Outside conservation areas, wraparounds are acceptable subject to depth, scale and form. The same guidance limits single-storey rear projections on terraces to 3m from the original rear elevation and expects the roof to sit visibly below the first-floor sill. Other councils judge wraparounds case by case; Wandsworth's guidance, for example, asks for rear extensions to be subservient and to keep a substantial depth of garden.
Councils commonly draw a 45-degree line from the nearest neighbouring habitable-room window to check that an extension does not take too much light or outlook. A wrap-around is tested twice: the side leg against the neighbour beside the outrigger, and the rear leg against the windows on the other side. Keeping the roof low on the boundaries — within the 3m eaves limit near a boundary that national rules use — helps an L-shaped design meet the 45-degree test.
A mid-terrace wrap-around normally reaches both boundaries: the side leg runs along one neighbour's wall and the rear leg spans the full plot to meet the other. The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 then applies on both sides, so two sets of notices, and possibly two surveyors, are needed. We serve them all and plan the timing into your programme.
To open the house into the L, the outrigger's side wall and its rear wall usually both come out. That needs new beams on new foundations, plus CDM-compliant temporary propping while the walls are removed, all carried out as accompanying turnkey works. Soil stacks and drains often run down the outrigger or across the yard, so drainage connections may need rerouting. Building control approval is needed for every extension, and we manage it through to sign-off.
We check your address against the council's conservation area and Article 4 records, then prepare the householder application, serve party wall notices on both sides and manage building control approval. Boundaries follow individual properties, so we confirm your address with the council for you. This planning summary reflects the position as at 2026 and is general information rather than planning advice. See our London planning and Article 4 guide for more.
The wrap-around belongs to houses with a rear outrigger or a side passage and a garden deep enough to give up a few metres. That describes much of London's period stock.
Victorian and Edwardian terraces with outriggers. The classic Victorian wrap around extension: an outrigger kitchen, an alley beside it and a long garden behind. The L closes the alley and squares off the back. These terraces fill Hammersmith & Fulham, where terraced houses make up around three-quarters of the house stock, and Wandsworth, from the Toast Rack in SW18 to the streets between the Commons in SW11.
Period semis with a side passage. Many Victorian and Edwardian semis have a passage between the house and the boundary as well as an outrigger. A wrap-around can fill the return and cross the rear, and the design decides whether a passage to the garden is kept.
End-of-terrace houses. With only one attached neighbour, the open side gives more freedom over glazing and roof form, and only one party wall applies along the side. The exposed flank is more visible from the street, so materials matter.
1930s semis. Here the L wraps around the side and rear of the main house rather than an outrigger, often where a side passage or driveway runs alongside. Ealing has large numbers of them in Perivale, Greenford and Northolt, and interwar semis are common in Hanwell and parts of Richmond upon Thames.
Hackney terraces — check the street first. Hackney has fine terraces in Stoke Newington, Clapton and Victoria Park, but only around 19% of its homes are houses, and its 2026 SPD makes the conservation-area question decisive. Outside conservation areas a wrap-around can work; inside one, a side infill is often the safer route.
Our wrap-around extensions cost from £63,000 inc. VAT for 21 m², and a 28 m² wrap-around is from £84,000 at our £3,000 per m² rate. Traditional London builders typically reach £3,800 per m² or more once VAT, glazing, electrics, flooring and decoration are included — £79,800 or more for the same 21 m².
Comparing like with like. At 21 m² the gap between our £63,000 and a traditional £79,800+ is £16,800 or more. At 28 m² the traditional rate works out at £106,400 or more against our from-£84,000. Our price covers VAT, foundations, the structural steel frame, external walls with silicone render, flat roof, painted walls and ceilings, electrics and lighting, flooring and up to 3m-wide aluminium or uPVC doors or windows.
What adds cost — quoted separately. A wrap-around has more variables than a single infill: the structural opening through two outrigger walls and its steelwork and propping; drainage, especially where a soil stack has to move; roof glazing at the junction of the two legs; specific finishes or glazing upgrades, quoted on request; plus demolition, ground preparation, professional fees and statutory approvals. Each is itemised after survey — we do not publish guesses for them.
The value case. Industry analysis puts a quality extension at around £1.50 of added value per £1 spent, typically £1.40–£1.60. A wrap-around turns the most-used part of the house into its best room, which is where that value tends to show. Our London extension cost guide sets out the wider figures.
Programme. Once you order, we offer a guaranteed 4-week lead time to start on site. Where a householder application is needed, allow 8–10 weeks for planning and design first. Manufacture of the frame and panels runs alongside the groundworks, and most London wrap-arounds take 4–6 weeks on site against the 10–16 weeks or more a traditional build often needs. Allow 8–10 weeks beforehand for design and the householder application.
Figures are indicative and depend on size, layout, specification, access and finish. Our prices are fixed and include the full standard specification. Get an itemised figure for your wrap-around with our instant fixed price quotation form — and our Price Beat Guarantee means we will better any genuine like-for-like quote.
These completed Vita builds come from projects across the UK, led by our 21 m² wrap-around. Wrap-arounds in our price guide range from 21 m² to 28 m², and larger L-shaped schemes are priced the same way.
Seven metres by three, wrapping the side and rear on a tight-access site, finished in silicone thin-coat render with anthracite grey aluminium glazing — the classic L-shaped wrap-around.
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A 40 m² extension in Warrington finished in a masonry brick system matched to the existing house, with crittall-style aluminium glazing — the finish options a larger wrap-around can use.
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An 18 m² rear extension for comparison: if planning or the garden rules out the side leg, a full-width rear-only extension is the usual alternative.
Get a fixed price →See all our builds, full prices and what every price includes on our London house extensions page.
Completed Vita projects in London, with their real sizes, build times and prices.
A wrap-around extension joined to the existing kitchen and diner, on steel ground screws, finished in grey silicone render.
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A large rear extension with structural steel, vaulted ceilings, upgraded glazing and remodelled interiors.
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Built under permitted development with a 4.5m structural opening, aluminium bi-folds, a flush rooflight and a fully fitted new kitchen.
View the case study →Project prices are as built and include each client's chosen extras, such as structural openings, kitchens and flooring upgrades. Find more London case studies on our case studies page →
Everything in one guide: prices, planning, design, glazing, structural openings, party wall, build over agreements, building control and a real on-site programme. Every approval in it is managed by Vita as part of our turnkey service.
We build wrap-arounds wherever London has outrigger terraces and period or interwar semis with gardens to spare. These are some of the boroughs and neighbourhoods we cover.
We build across the rest of London too, from our office in South Bermondsey, SE15. Every wrap-around starts with an address-specific check of conservation area, Article 4 and flood records — see our London house extensions page for every extension type we offer.
What London homeowners ask most about wrap-around cost, planning, neighbours and living through the build.
A side return extension in London fills only the narrow strip beside the rear outrigger, widening the existing kitchen. A wrap-around extension fills that strip and also continues across the back of the outrigger and the main house, forming an L-shape. The wrap-around therefore adds both width and depth, typically 21–28 m² against 12–18 m² for a side return, and creates a full-width room facing the garden. It also involves more structural work, usually a householder application and party wall notices to both neighbours.
In most cases, yes. As at 2026, the side leg of a wrap-around extends beyond a side wall of the original house, so the scheme is assessed as a side and rear extension rather than under the 3m or 6m rear-only permitted development allowances. In London's conservation areas there is no permitted development route for side extensions at all. The national householder application fee in England is £548 from 1 April 2026. Boundaries and Article 4 directions follow individual properties, so we confirm your address with the council before design starts.
With Vita Modular a wrap-around extension in London costs from £63,000 inc. VAT for 21 m² (7m × 3m), and a 28 m² wrap-around is from £84,000 at our £3,000 per m² rate. A traditional London builder typically reaches £3,800 per m² or more all-in, which puts 21 m² at £79,800+. The structural opening and steelwork, drainage, roof glazing, conservation materials, demolition, professional fees and statutory approvals are quoted separately after survey. Our instant quotation form returns a fixed price for your own wrap-around in minutes.
It is harder. Hackney's 2026 Residential Extensions and Alterations guidance sets out that, in its conservation areas, wraparounds are not acceptable where they are not the established character of the terrace, although an infill beside an original outrigger is generally acceptable. Outside Hackney's conservation areas, wraparounds are acceptable subject to depth, scale and form. Other London councils also scrutinise L-shaped extensions in conservation areas. We check your address against the council's conservation area and Article 4 records before recommending a wrap-around or a side infill.
Once your order is placed we offer a guaranteed 4-week lead time to start on site. Where a householder application is needed, allow 8–10 weeks for planning and design first. Most London wrap-arounds are then built on site in 4–6 weeks, on average around 6 weeks, because the steel frame and insulated panels are manufactured at our Warwickshire facility while the foundations go in. Traditional builders often need 10–16 weeks or more on site for the same work. Because most wrap-arounds need a householder application, allow 8–10 weeks for design and planning beforehand.
That depends on your household, but our method keeps disruption in a London home down: the frame and panels arrive made off-site, with no cranes or heavy lifting and less construction traffic than a traditional build. The most disruptive stage is the structural opening, when the outrigger's side and rear walls are removed under CDM-compliant temporary propping and the kitchen is out of use. We set out that sequence in your programme at contract stage, so you can decide whether to stay and plan a temporary kitchen.
Our standard London wrap-around has a flat roof, which keeps the eaves low on both boundaries and helps with the 45-degree test. Roof glazing is an optional extra, and on a wrap-around it is most often placed above the side leg or where the side and rear roofs meet, bringing light into the middle of the house. Councils assess roof form closely — Hackney's 2026 guidance expects roofs visibly below the first-floor sill — so we design the roof and any glazed section around your borough's guidance.
On a London mid-terrace, usually yes. The side leg of a wrap-around runs along one neighbour's boundary and the rear leg spans the full width of the plot to meet the other, so the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 applies on both sides. Notices must be served on each adjoining owner before work starts, and either may appoint a surveyor. An end-of-terrace or semi may involve only one neighbour. We serve all notices, coordinate the surveyors and fit the timing into your programme alongside planning.
Compare the other ways to extend a London home, or read our cost and planning guides.
Our London extension builders' hub — prices, planning across every borough, the modular method and ROI.
Read more →Side return and wrap-around extensions for Victorian terraces, with costs per m² and a worked 12 m² example.
Read more →Single-storey rear extensions — permitted development limits, prior approval, costs from £45,000 and glazing options.
Read more →What a side return costs per m², a worked 12 m² example and what pushes the price up.
Read more →Victorian terraces in Stoke Newington, De Beauvoir and Clapton under Hackney's 2026 extensions guidance.
Read more →Send us your architect's drawings and planning approval for a fixed, all-inclusive build price.
Read more →Please kindly note that our minimum order value for a typical 3m x 3m (9 SQ/M) size modular extension is £30,000 inclusive.
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