How much do building regulations drawings cost in London?

A set of building regulations drawings for a London home costs our fixed £745, which already includes the measured survey visit. Building control charges its own fee on top, and a structural engineer's calculations are a separate line, so the real budget has three parts and this post prices each of them.

By the DrawingsDirect drawing team · 26 October 2026 · 4 min read

The short answer: three costs, and ours is the fixed one

The first cost is ours. For £745 we measure the house, then draw the construction sections, wall, floor and roof build-ups, insulation and ventilation notes, drainage layout and the fire-safety information that building control reads. The survey visit is built into that figure rather than added afterwards.

The second is the building control charge. Councils work it out from an hourly rate for their officers' time, and the rate and any standard charges must be published in the authority's charging scheme (Building (Local Authority Charges) Regulations 2010, regulation 7). The third is the structural engineer, covered below. We do not quote the first two as one number, because the second is not ours to fix.

What our building regulations fee is made of

Our construction drawings: £545
Our measured survey visit: £200
Total: £745

What the drawings are for

Planning permission decides whether the building may go there and what it looks like. Building regulations decide whether it is built safely: that the structure holds, the walls and roof keep the heat in, there is a way out of the house in a fire and the drains work. The two are separate applications, and a house can need one, the other or both.

Your builder prices from these drawings, so a thin set tends to turn into extras on site. A set that shows the wall make-up, the beam positions and the floor levels lets three builders quote the same job and gives you figures you can compare line by line.

Plasterer running a long blade along the join between a freshly boarded ceiling and a wall inside a house under work — Finishes like these only pass inspection if the layers behind them match the approved drawings.

Full plans or building notice: which costs less

A full plans application sends the drawings to building control before work starts, and you get a decision on them. A building notice skips the drawing stage and lets the inspector deal with it on site, which sounds cheaper but gives you nothing to show a builder, a lender or a buyer's solicitor until the end. A building notice also lapses: it ceases to have effect after three years unless work has started (regulation 13).

We prepare drawings that suit full plans, because for an extension or loft they remove the guesswork. If the job is small and your builder wants to use a building notice, say so on the quote form and we will tell you honestly whether the drawings are still worth having.

What the structural engineer adds

Any opening in a load-bearing wall, a new steel beam over bi-fold doors, or a loft floor that carries new load needs calculations, and building control will ask for them. Ours start at £395 through our structural drawings and calculations service. The calculations name the beam; the drawings then show it, so the two never disagree.

If the new work touches a shared wall or sits next to a neighbour's foundations, the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 may apply as well, and our party wall notices start at £45 per adjoining owner.

What happens if you skip it

It is tempting on a small job, particularly when a builder says they will "sort it with the council". The law does not work that way. If work breaks the regulations, the council can serve a notice requiring the owner to pull it down or alter it, and that power lasts for 10 years from completion (Building Act 1984, section 36). Government guidance on approval also notes that the person doing the work could be prosecuted and fined.

The same page warns that without approval you will not have the certificates of compliance you may need when you sell. A missing approval is therefore a problem you hand to your buyer, and it tends to come back to you as a price cut or a delay at the sale.

Do you need them if your builder is registered?

Sometimes not, for the application itself. Government guidance says you do not need to get approval yourself if you use someone registered with a competent person scheme, because they self-certify certain work such as new windows or a boiler. That covers a narrow list of jobs, and it does not cover a new rear extension or a steel beam through a wall.

For those, drawings and an application are the route. If you are unsure which side of the line your project sits, send us the address and a sentence about the work, and we will say which application it needs, including when the answer is none.

Sources

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

hourly rate: Building (Local Authority Charges) Regulations 2010 reg 7: charges are set from the authority's costs using an hourly rate stated in its charging scheme (source wording: "The hourly rate determined for the purposes of paragraph (2)(a) shall be stated in the charging scheme"). www.legislation.gov.uk
three years: Building Regulations 2010 reg 13(5): a building notice lapses after three years (source wording: "shall cease to have effect on the expiry of three years from the date on which that notice was given"). www.legislation.gov.uk
10 years: Building Act 1984 s36(1) and (4): the authority may require work that contravenes the regulations to be removed or altered, and the notice may not be given after 10 years from completion (source wording: "shall not be given after the expiration of 10 years from the date of the completion of the work in question"). www.legislation.gov.uk
prosecuted and fined: GOV.UK Building regulations approval: (source wording: "The person doing the work could be prosecuted and fined"). www.gov.uk
certificates of compliance: GOV.UK Building regulations approval: (source wording: "Without approval you will not have the certificates of compliance you may need when you want to sell your home"). www.gov.uk
competent person scheme: GOV.UK Building regulations approval: (source wording: "You do not need to get approval yourself if you use someone registered with a competent person scheme"). www.gov.uk

Questions people ask

Is the building control fee included in your price?

No. It is paid to the council or approved inspector, and each sets its own charge under a published scheme. We tell you the figure for your council on the quote.

Do I pay VAT on your fee?

No. The fee shown is the total you pay; no VAT is charged.

Can you submit the application for me?

Yes. We prepare the full plans package and submit it, then answer building control's questions on the drawings.

Do I need these if I already have planning permission?

Almost always. Planning permission does not cover how the building is constructed, so the building regulations application is separate.

Can a builder do this without drawings?

A builder can apply by building notice with little paperwork, but you then have no approved set to price from, and the inspector decides on site. Most homeowners find drawings cheaper in the end.

Photographs: Brett Jordan (Pexels License); Tima Miroshnichenko (Pexels License).

Building Regulations Drawings: a fixed fee from £745

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

Building Regulations Drawings

from £745

£545 drawings + £200 survey (£745 total)

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

Measured survey visit, included in the fixed fee
Construction sections and wall, floor and roof build-ups
Insulation, ventilation and drainage layouts
Fire-safety and escape information on the plans
Drawings set up for a full plans submission to building control