The council makes charges for building regulations. This is in agreement with The Building (council charges) Regulations 1998.
Before you build, extend or alter, you or your agent must inform the council. This can be done by either making a full plans submission or making a building notice application.
The fee payable in each case depends on:
- The type of work
- The number of dwellings in a building
- The total floor area.
Fees are payable as follows:
- If you submit full plans, you will pay a plan fee at the time of submission. This is to cover their passing or rejection
- With full plans submissions, for most types of work, an inspection fee is payable. This covers all required site visits and is due following the first inspection
- If you give in a building notice, the correct building notice fee is payable at the time of submission. It covers all necessary checks and site visits. The building notice fee is equal to the sum of the relevant plan fee and inspection fee
- If you apply for a regularisation certificate in respect of unauthorised building work starting on or after 11 November 1985, you will pay a regularisation fee. This covers the cost of accessing your application and all inspections. The fee is equal to the building notice fee plus 20 per cent
- Schedule one: Fees for small domestic buildings such as certain new dwellings, houses and flats. This applies where the building has no more than three storeys, with each basement level being counted as one storey. In any other case, schedule three applies
- Schedule two: Where work includes more than one household extension, the total inside floor areas of all storeys and extensions shown on the application must be added together to decide the relevant fee. If the extension(s) exceed 60m² or three storeys in height then schedule three applies
- Schedule three: This applies to all other building work not covered by schedules one or two. The total approximate cost means an estimate accepted by the council would be charged by a person in business to carry out the work shown or described in the application. This would exclude VAT and any professional fees paid to an architect, engineer or surveyor, and any land acquisition costs
Exemptions and reductions in fees
- Where plans have been either accepted or rejected, no further fee is payable on resubmission for largely the same work
- Work providing access and/or facilities for people with disabilities to existing dwellings and buildings that the public have access to are exempt from fees. This means a person to whom section 29(1) of the National Assistance Act 1948 applies
- Placing of insulating material into an existing cavity wall is exempt from fees. This is only if the installation is certified to an approved standard and is carried out by an approved installer
- Installation of an approved non-vented hot water system is exempt from fees where the work is carried out by an approved operative or is part of a larger project
- The amount of charges payable depends on the type of work, the number of dwellings in a building and the total floor area. The fee schedules may be used in conjunction with the current charge regulations to calculate the charge
- Charges in respect of all work are subject to VAT at the standard rate, the only exception is the regularisation charge.
Regularisation
- For applications that are submitted retrospectively a regularisation charge is payable in addition to the normal charge. This is the Building Notice charge plus a 20 per cent surcharge.
Windows replacement fees
- The charge for household installations is a flat rate £60 plus VAT
- The charge for commercial windows is based on the estimated cost as per schedule three.
Schedule tables
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Discounts are available for repetitive work on all schedules.
Note: The above information is for guidance only and does not substitute for Statutory Instrument 1998 No. 3129 which contains the full statement of the law.
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