Can I get as-built drawings of my house in London?

Yes. As-built floor plans of a London house start at £275 from us, and that price includes the visit where we measure the house as it stands now, after whatever has been built, knocked through or added over the years. You get scaled, dimensioned drawings of every floor as a PDF and an editable DWG file, so you are not relying on the original plans, the builder's sketches or an estate agent's marketing plan.

By the DrawingsDirect drawing team · 31 October 2026 · 5 min read

What "as-built" means, and why your house probably has none

An as-built drawing records what was actually built. The planning and building regulations drawings for an extension show what was intended; on site, a wall moves 150 mm, a window shrinks, a steel goes in where the engineer revised it. Unless someone measured the finished job, the only drawings you hold describe a house that does not quite exist.

Most London homes have no drawings at all. A Victorian terrace may have had a rear addition in the 1900s, a loft in the 1980s and a knocked-through ground floor last decade, each by a different owner. An as-built set is the first time the whole house is drawn in one place, at one scale, from one set of measurements.

If you are unsure which file you need, the difference between CAD and PDF drawings explains who uses each.

How we produce them

We visit, measure every floor with a laser distance meter, and record room sizes, wall thicknesses, openings, stairs and ceiling heights. We then draw the floor plans to a stated scale with north marked, and send them as PDF for reading and printing, and DWG for anyone who will design from them. The method is the same as our measured building survey; what changes is the purpose. The guide to what a measured building survey is explains the visit in more detail, and how much a measured building survey costs covers the survey you would buy before designing new work.

From the house as it is to drawings you can use

Send us the address
Tell us the floors and what the plans are for. The fee is fixed before anyone visits.
One measuring visit
Every room, wall, opening, stair and ceiling height is recorded with a laser distance meter.
Scaled floor plans
Each floor is drawn to a stated scale with north marked and the main dimensions shown.
PDF and DWG
You receive a PDF to read or print and an editable DWG for a designer, engineer or builder.

Blockwork shell of a house extension mid-build, where the finished walls often end up a little off the planning drawings — What gets built is close to the drawings, rarely identical to them.

After building work: is the completion certificate enough?

No, because it answers a different question. Under the Building Regulations, the council or approved inspector gives a completion certificate once satisfied the work complies, and the regulations say that certificate is evidence, but not conclusive evidence, that the requirements were met. It carries no plan of what was built, and the drawings approved along the way show the design, not the finished house.

So keep the certificate with your house papers, and add an as-built set if you will ever extend again, sell, or need an engineer or builder to work on the house. The next designer starts from the measured house, not from an approved set that may be out by a wall thickness. If the work was done without building control, that is a separate route: a regularisation certificate can be sought for unauthorised work carried out on or after 11 November 1985, and our building regulations regularisation service handles the drawings for it.

Selling or remortgaging: what plans actually help

A buyer's solicitor will ask for planning and building control paperwork for past works, not for floor plans. Plans help with everything around that: a buyer can see what an extension added, a lender's valuer can check the layout, and you can show that the loft or rear room matches what was approved.

Do not expect the Land Registry title plan to do the job. HM Land Registry explains that most registered titles show only general boundaries, under section 60(1) of the Land Registration Act 2002, with no standard tolerance between the line on the plan and the legal boundary. A title plan tells you roughly where the land is; a measured plan tells you what is on it.

London rooftops with dormers and chimneys, showing how many houses have lofts and additions no original plan records — Lofts and dormers added over decades are rarely on any drawing the owner holds.

When the plans are the start of a new project

Many people ask for as-built drawings because they are planning the next job. If that next job needs a council application, the existing plans must meet the same standard as any planning drawing: government guidance says that any plans or drawings must be drawn to an identified scale and, in the case of plans, show north. For building control, a building notice for an extension needs a plan at a scale of not less than 1:1250 showing the building and its relationship to the boundaries.

If you already know you are going ahead, buy the drawing package rather than the plans alone, because the measuring visit is already inside every package. I have planning permission: what drawings do I need next? sets out the order of what follows, and what if my drawings don't match my house? covers what to do when an earlier set turns out to be wrong.

Rear extension under construction on a semi-detached house, the point at which a future owner will need as-built plans — Today's extension is the next owner's existing house.

What it costs, and the cheaper option if you have plans already

As-built floor plans start at £275 including the measuring visit, with no VAT charged. The fee depends on the number of floors and the size of the house; you get the figure in writing before we visit. Elevations or a site plan can be added if you need them.

If you already hold accurate measured plans on paper or as a PDF, and nothing has been built since, a CAD redraw from £195 costs less than a new visit. We will tell you honestly if the source is not reliable enough to trust. Estate agent plans and anything that predates later works are the usual reasons a fresh measurement is the better buy. Our floor plans service and how much floor plans cost give more detail on area figures and uses.

As-built plans: the two ways to get them

As-built floor plans, measured on site: £275
Redraw of accurate plans you hold: £195
Measured survey before a design project: £200
Total: £670

Sources

Every figure in this article, where it comes from and a link to the original.

not conclusive evidence: Building Regulations 2010 reg 17(4) (source wording: completion certificate "shall be evidence (but not conclusive evidence) that the requirements specified in the certificate have been complied with"). www.legislation.gov.uk
11 November 1985: Building Regulations 2010 reg 18(1) (source wording: applies where "unauthorised building work has been carried out on or after 11th November 1985"). www.legislation.gov.uk
section 60(1): HM Land Registry practice guide 40 supplement 3, section 5 (source wording: "the great majority of registered titles show only the 'general boundaries', under section 60(1) of the Land Registration Act 2002"). www.gov.uk
no standard tolerance: HM Land Registry practice guide 40 supplement 3, section 5 (source wording: "there is no standard tolerance, measurement or ratio" between the general boundary on the title plan and the legal boundary). www.gov.uk
identified scale: PPG Making an application, para 023 (source wording: "Any plans or drawings must be drawn to an identified scale, and in the case of plans, must show the direction of north"). www.gov.uk
1:1250: Building Regulations 2010 reg 13(2)(a) (source wording: building notice accompanied by "a plan to a scale of not less than 1:1250" showing size and position and relationship to adjoining boundaries). www.legislation.gov.uk

Questions people ask

Can you draw as-built plans from my builder's or the original planning drawings?

We use them as a guide, but the as-built set comes from measuring the house, because the finished building often differs from the approved drawings.

What file formats do I get?

A PDF of each sheet to read or print, and a DWG file for your designer or builder.

My house has no plans at all. Can you still draw it?

Yes. That is the most common case. We measure every floor from scratch, so no existing drawing is needed.

Do I need as-built drawings to sell my house?

They are not a legal requirement for a sale. The buyer's solicitor will want planning and building control paperwork; plans help a buyer and a valuer understand the layout.

Is the measuring visit charged on top?

No. The visit is inside the £275 starting fee, and no VAT is charged on our fees.

Photographs: T (Unsplash License); David Hawgood (CC BY-SA 2.0); William Dmytrow (Unsplash License); Brett Jordan (Pexels License).

Floor Plans: a fixed fee from £275

Read more on the floor plans service page, or send your address below and we reply within one working day.

Floor Plans

from £275

Every price is the full fixed fee you pay. No VAT is charged. Council application fees are paid to the council separately.

Get a fixed quote Call 020 7864 7245

What you get

One laser-measured visit to the house as it stands
Scaled, dimensioned floor plans of every floor
North point and stated scale on every sheet
PDF for reading and printing, DWG for designers
A fixed fee in writing before the visit
Elevations or a site plan added on request