If you’re planning a self-build home or house renovation, understanding the fee structure is crucial. How the fee structure is set up determines how much you will have to spend on administering your project before construction begins.
The various consultants fees and milestones, which we discuss here, relate to the fee structure as detailed in the RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) Plan of Work. Grasping the fee structure will give you a feel for what you can expect to pay on various planning and solicitor fees, both in the run-up to and during construction. The fee structure allows you to see how much you’ll pay as you move from one milestone to the next, showing you the timing of payments.
The cost of constructing a self-build home isn’t just about materials and labour. It includes the other services defined in the fee structure that you use to get a project off the ground. Typically, people spend around 20 per cent on top of the total build cost on consultant fees (besides those related to construction), as indicated in the fee structure.
You will need to work with consultants, as per the fee structure, to comply with all regulations.
You achieve milestones one and two as you progress through stages 0 to 3 of the RIBA scheme. Stage 0, as described in the fee structure, (newly added in a recent update) considers the “strategic objectives” of the build. Stage 1 encompasses preparation and briefing, aligning with the fee structure, which is where you define the project and decide whether it is feasible with the help of professionals. Stage 2, under the fee structure, involves creating an architectural concept. And stage 3 develops this further by spatially coordinating both engineering and architectural information.
Within the fee structure, fees at this stage typically consume 20 per cent of the total fee cost of the project. Completing milestones 1 and 2, therefore, typically consumes 3 per cent of the cost of the project.
Milestone 3 for self-build homes correlates with the RIBA Plan of Work 2020, stage 4 – the technical design stage. Here a team of professionals complete all of the design information to construct the project. This part includes things like developing the architectural and engineering designs, preparing the coordination of the design team, submitting building regulations applications, preparing construction phase plan and discharging pre-commencement planning conditions.
You can expect to consume around 10 per cent of the total value of the project at this stage, and 60 per cent of the total fee budget. Going back to our example above, this means that you’ll spend around £12,000 of the total £20,000 on these services.
Stage 4 typically takes between two to six months to complete, depending on the size and complexity of the project.
Adding all this up presents a picture of the total costs you incur before construction begins. You will need to spend around £16,000 on a £100,000 build before the project can get underway, representing 13 per cent of the total cost of the project. And getting to this stage will take between 6 months and 10 months, depending on the complexity and size of the build. The majority of residential projects tend to lean towards the lower side of that time frame.
The final milestone – milestone 4 – corresponds to stage 5 of the RIBA Plan of Work. This stage – also called the manufacturing and construction stage – is relatively self-explanatory and involves things like collecting materials, organising labourers and contractors, and complying building regulations.
At this stage, fee-related spending accounts for the final 20 per cent of your fee budget. Costs include site queries, progress monitoring, site logistics, and preparing the building manual. Going back to the above example, then, you can expect to pay a further £4,000 on fees during construction, or approximately 3 per cent of the total cost of the build.
How long building work continues depends largely on the complexity and size of the project. Typically, construction brings you from month four until month twelve, although the actual timing will depend on your specific plans.
Understanding the fee structure is paramount. The amount you spend in planning before work begins on your self-build home is a small percentage of the total, but it’s a crucial part of understanding the overall financial layout. The fee structure provides clarity on these initial costs. Prospecting, therefore, becomes relatively inexpensive and accessible with a clear fee structure in place.
Importantly, while there are some fees in the pre-planning stage, most relate to architect and engineering costs in drawing up detailed plans. Prospecting, therefore, is relatively inexpensive and accessible.
Milestones 1 and 2 include all of the RIBA stages up to number three, including preparing the briefing, completing the concept design and ensuring that all information is spatially coordinated. Thus, those looking to self-build have tremendous leeway to explore their options. You can progress quite a long way with your project before having to part with large sums of money.