Air conditioning in Kent
We install, service and repair air conditioning for homes and businesses across Kent. This page covers who decides planning where you live, how Kent's older houses change an install, and what it costs.
- councils deciding planning
- 12 + Medway
- single room, from
- £1,850
- annual service, from
- £119
Who decides planning in Kent
Kent County Council doesn't decide planning applications for homes, shops or offices. Your district, borough or city council does. If you live in Rochester, Chatham, Gillingham, Strood or Rainham, that's Medway Council, which runs separately from the county.
In July 2026 ministers decided that four new unitary councils will replace Kent County Council, Medway Council and the 12 district councils. The new councils don't start until 1 April 2028. Until then the existing councils carry on as normal, so any application made now goes to the council listed below.
- Ashford Borough Council
- Canterbury City Council
- Dartford Borough Council
- Dover District Council
- Folkestone and Hythe District Council
- Gravesham Borough Council
- Maidstone Borough Council
- Sevenoaks District Council
- Swale Borough Council
- Thanet District Council
- Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council
- Tunbridge Wells Borough Council
Towns we cover in Kent
These are the main towns we cover. If yours isn't listed, put your postcode in the quote form and we'll confirm.
- Dartford and Gravesend
- Sevenoaks and Tonbridge
- Royal Tunbridge Wells
- Maidstone, the county town
- Rochester, Chatham and Gillingham
- Ashford and Tenterden
- Canterbury, Faversham and Whitstable
- Folkestone, Dover and Sandwich
Kent homes and what they mean for an install
Most of the work in fitting air conditioning is finding a good place for the outdoor unit and a tidy route for the pipes. Kent's housing makes that easy in some homes and fiddly in others.
| Type of home | Where you'll find it | What it means for the install |
|---|---|---|
| Tile-hung and weatherboarded cottages | Weald villages and the older parts of most market towns | Timber frames and hung tiles need careful fixings. The outdoor unit usually goes on a ground pad at the back. |
| Oast house conversions | Rural Kent, especially former hop-growing areas | Curved kiln walls rarely suit a wall bracket. Check whether the building is listed before planning anything. |
| Victorian and Edwardian terraces | Rochester, Chatham, Gravesend, Tunbridge Wells | Narrow rear gardens and back extensions. Pipes often run along the extension to reach a bedroom at the back. |
| Detached and semi-detached family homes | Sevenoaks, Tonbridge and the edges of most towns | Plenty of room for the outdoor unit. One multi-split unit can serve several bedrooms. |
| New-build estates and flats | Edges of Dartford, Ashford, Maidstone and Canterbury | Check the deeds for covenants. Flats usually need the freeholder's consent as well as planning. |
Conservation areas, listed buildings and protected landscapes
Canterbury City Council alone has 97 conservation areas, and almost all of Canterbury's city centre sits inside one of six of them. The cathedral, St Augustine's Abbey and St Martin's Church together form a World Heritage Site, inscribed in 1988.
Elsewhere, Dover District Council has 57 conservation areas, including Sandwich, which has had an Article 4 direction since 1998. Medway has 24, including Historic Rochester and Chatham Historic Dockyard. Faversham's town centre has been a conservation area since 1971. Swale Borough Council handles planning there, not Canterbury.
Two National Landscapes cover large parts of the county: the Kent Downs and the High Weald. Neither stops you fitting air conditioning, but councils look harder at anything visible in these settings.
Outdoor units on houses can often go up without a planning application under permitted development. That has limits on size, position and noise. Listed buildings need listed building consent for most external fixings. Flats, and homes in conservation areas or under an Article 4 direction, often need a planning application. Our planning guide explains the conditions, and we check them for your address at the survey.
Air conditioning for Kent businesses
We fit and maintain systems in offices, shops, salons, surgeries and restaurants. Most small premises need one or two wall units or ceiling cassettes. We fit commercial systems during business hours and plan the work so you can keep trading.
If you already have a system, we service and repair most brands, including ones we didn't fit. Servicing keeps the manufacturer's warranty valid and lets us keep the F-Gas records that larger systems need.
Prices for Kent homes
These are our standard starting prices, the same across Kent and London. Your fixed price comes after a survey.
- from£1,850inc. VAT
A bedroom or study
2.5 kW wall unit, 5 m pipe, fitted in a day
- from£2,050inc. VAT
A living room
3.5 kW wall unit
- from£3,650inc. VAT
Two rooms, one outdoor unit
Multi-split
- from£5,100inc. VAT
Three rooms
Multi-split
- from£2,350inc. VAT
Floor-standing unit
2.5 kW console
- from£119inc. VAT
An annual service
Keeps the manufacturer warranty valid
Prices for Kent businesses
- from£1,795+ VAT
Commercial wall unit
Fitted in business hours
- from£2,750+ VAT
Ceiling cassette
In a suitable suspended ceiling
- from£59inc. VAT
Each extra indoor unit
Same visit
Worth checking before your survey
- Whether your home is listed. Search your address on Historic England's National Heritage List
- Whether you're in a conservation area. Your district council publishes maps
- Whether an Article 4 direction applies to your street
- For a flat, who the freeholder or managing agent is
- Any covenants in the deeds of a newer home
- Where the consumer unit (fuse box) is
- A photo of the wall or patch of garden where an outdoor unit could go
Questions from Kent customers
Which council do I apply to for planning in Kent?
Your district, borough or city council, or Medway Council in the Medway towns. Kent County Council doesn't handle householder applications. The four new unitary councils don't take over until 1 April 2028.
Can you fit air conditioning in an oast house?
Often, yes. The round kiln walls make wall brackets awkward, so the outdoor unit usually sits on a ground pad nearby and the pipes run in neatly. Some oasts are listed, so check the National Heritage List first. If yours is, you'll need listed building consent.
I live in a Canterbury conservation area. Can I still have air conditioning?
Usually, yes, but where the outdoor unit goes matters. A unit on a rear wall or in the garden, out of sight from the street, has the best chance. Canterbury has Article 4 directions in some conservation areas, so check with the council for your street. We'll look at siting with you at the survey.
Do you service systems in Kent that another company fitted?
Yes. We service and repair most split and multi-split systems, whoever fitted them. Tell us the brand and model when you book.