Institutional void refurbishment, Marchmont

Scope

The flat had been let continuously for years without meaningful investment. Our instruction covered a complete strip-out, layout modification to create compliant room sizes and circulation, and full renewal of mechanical and electrical services.

Because the property sits inside a shared tenement structure, the scope was set against the title position and the local authority HMO schedule before pricing rather than after.

• Complete strip-out and clearance
• Layout modification for compliant room and circulation standards
• Full rewire and consumer unit replacement
• Plumbing renewal and heating upgrade
• Interlinked detection and fire door installation
• Plaster repair, decoration and new floor finishes

Programme

The agent's priority was certainty of date, because every week vacant was a week of lost rent. We committed to a fixed completion date at instruction and sequenced all trades into one continuous run rather than a series of visits.

Structural and services work ran first, followed by plaster and joinery, then finishes and commissioning. There were no gaps in the programme waiting for a second contractor to become available.

Specification

The specification was chosen for rental durability rather than showroom appeal. Panelled wet areas removed grout as a failure point, glue-down LVT gave a floor that can be repaired plank by plank, and a scrubbable satin wall finish allows touch-up between tenancies.

Kitchen cabinetry was rigid carcass with quality hardware, scribed to the out-of-true tenement walls so there are no filler gaps to collect dirt.

Outcome

The property completed on the committed date and was marketed the same week. The agent received a single invoice covering every trade and a documentation pack containing the electrical report, detection commissioning records, fire door records and before and after photography of every room.

That pack went straight into the licensing file, which is the difference between a compliant property and a property you hope is compliant.