Regularisation drawings for work already built, £719 in total
The builder left, nobody told building control, and now a buyer’s solicitor wants a completion certificate. A regularisation certificate puts that right. We measure what stands and draw it for the council: £569 plus the £150 survey.
- £569 drawings + £150 survey (£719 total)
- As-built plans for building control
- Free redraws until approval
What do regularisation drawings cost in London?
Our fee is £569 for the drawings and £150 for the measured survey, £719 in total, with no VAT to add. Building control charges its own fee for inspecting and certifying the work, and that is paid to it. The survey is charged once, so a retrospective planning application for the same house shows its drawings fee only.
What the £719 covers
- A measured survey of the finished work, inside and out
- Plans and sections of the work as built, in the form the council asks for under regulation 18
- A written description of the unauthorised work and the dates it was done
- A plan of any extra work building control is likely to ask for, so you can see the cost before you start
- Submission to building control and replies to the surveyor, with free redraws until approval
What is a regularisation certificate?
It is the council’s statement, after inspection, that work built without approval now meets the Building Regulations that applied when it was done. The owner applies in writing under regulation 18, describing the work and supplying plans (regulation 18). Building control decides what it needs to see before it is satisfied.
It is evidence, not proof. The Regulations say a certificate is evidence of compliance and not conclusive.
What building control will ask you to do
Inspect, and sometimes open up. The surveyor can ask you to uncover foundations, cut into a wall or test a drain to see what is behind a finish. Your drawings help in two ways: they show where to look, and they set out the work that probably needs to be added, so the conversation starts from a plan.
If the work falls short, the surveyor says what must change. Councils also keep the power to require removal or alteration of offending work within ten years of completion (section 36), which is another reason to put things right early.
- Foundations and structure: depth, size of steel and bearing
- Insulation and ventilation in the new walls and roof
- Fire safety, escape windows and smoke alarms
- Drainage and any new connections
Regularisation and planning are two different problems
Passing building control does not give planning permission, and the reverse is also true. If the work also needed consent and has none, you need a retrospective application, which we draw as retrospective planning drawings. One survey covers both. For work being done now, apply the normal way: building regulations drawings and the five-week full-plans route (gov.uk) avoid the need for one.
What the Regulations say about unauthorised work
- 11 Nov 1985
- A regularisation certificate can cover unauthorised work carried out on or after 11 November 1985. Building Regulations 2010, regulation 18
- 3 documents
- The application is a statement, a description of the unauthorised work and a plan of it so far as is reasonably practicable, with a plan of any further work needed. Building Regulations 2010, regulation 18
- Opening up
- The authority may ask the owner to open up the work, carry out tests or take samples before it decides. Building Regulations 2010, regulation 18
- Not conclusive
- A regularisation certificate is evidence that the requirements were complied with, but not conclusive evidence. Building Regulations 2010, regulation 18
- 10 years
- A council may serve a notice requiring the removal or alteration of offending work within 10 years of its completion. Building Act 1984, s.36(4)
- 28 days
- An owner who does not comply with a section 36 notice within 28 days risks the council doing the work itself, unless a court allows longer. Building Act 1984, s.36(3)
- Prosecution
- Someone doing work that breaks the regulations can be prosecuted and fined, and may be made to pay to fix faulty work. gov.uk, Building regulations approval: if you did not get approval
Regularisation questions
Can I get a regularisation certificate for work done years ago?
For work done on or after 11 November 1985, yes. Older work falls outside regulation 18, though you may still be able to explain it to a buyer.
Will the council make me pull it down?
Only if it fails the regulations and cannot be put right. A council can give a section 36 notice to remove or alter offending work within ten years of completion.
Source: Building Act 1984, s.36
Will building control need to open up the work?
It may. The council can require you to uncover work, test it or take samples before it decides.
Do I need planning permission as well?
Only if the work needed it and does not have it. The two are separate. We check both at the quote.
Source: gov.uk, Building regulations approval: if you did not get approval
Does the survey get repeated?
No. It is charged once per property visit, so a second drawing set for the same house shows its drawings fee alone.
Other services people book with this one
Selling and missing a certificate?
Send the address, what was built and roughly when. We say whether regulation 18 can cover it and reply with a fixed fee.