Building reg fees

Soldato
Joined
3 Jun 2012
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10,803
Yo,

Undertaking a garage conversion myself.

Had builder quotes in excess of 10k for a single double skinned garage converted to a room...

So decided ill do it myself for a fraction of this price.

I've been told I need to pay around 1.25k in building regs fees... even if I do it myself.

I've had a look at the table on my councils site, and fail to understand why this costs apply...

Can someone please educate me on why they are allowed to basically Rob me of nearly 1500 for which should be a quick check and a tick boxing task..
 
Soldato
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I didn't pay that much for a full single story rear extension. Iirc it was a fixed fee based on the room size.

Your local authority may vary, but I'd be surprised if it was as much as you say.

Edit - https://www.durham.gov.uk/media/352...trol-fees-and-guidance-notes-1-April-2021.pdf

I can't remember which fees apply, but "Conversion of a garage to a habitable room(s)" is only a few hundred however you add it up.
 
Soldato
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I didn't pay that much for a full single story rear extension. Iirc it was a fixed fee based on the room size.

Your local authority may vary, but I'd be surprised if it was as much as you say.

Edit - https://www.durham.gov.uk/media/352...trol-fees-and-guidance-notes-1-April-2021.pdf

I can't remember which fees apply, but "Conversion of a garage to a habitable room(s)" is only a few hundred however you add it up.
How are you adding it up?

That row has around 1400 in fees again...

I don't plan on submitting any sort of plan.

That drops it to £1300.

It really makes zero sense... 1, which charges apply and 2, how they think it's suitable to charge so much.

My materials won't even cost that much!
 
Soldato
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Designing Buildings
Seeing as England has a bizarre (in my opinion) way of doing things which line in your list of fees are referring to?

In Scotland we work it out on a sliding scale based on the cost of works so a 10k build cost based on the builder you approached would as jellybeard suggests would only come to a few hundred pounds.

Again when you say you're not supplying any plans (we have to up here) how will be building inspector know if you're doing things correctly if they've got no plan to follow on your proposed works? The quote you've received may seem excessive but prices of materials have been in the rise over the course of the pandemic. They did level off a bit at the start of the year but the war in the Ukraine has knocked prices up again in the last month. Not really such a thing as a cheap house build / extension any more
 
Soldato
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Seeing as England has a bizarre (in my opinion) way of doing things which line in your list of fees are referring to?

In Scotland we work it out on a sliding scale based on the cost of works so a 10k build cost based on the builder you approached would as jellybeard suggests would only come to a few hundred pounds.

Again when you say you're not supplying any plans (we have to up here) how will be building inspector know if you're doing things correctly if they've got no plan to follow on your proposed works? The quote you've received may seem excessive but prices of materials have been in the rise over the course of the pandemic. They did level off a bit at the start of the year but the war in the Ukraine has knocked prices up again in the last month. Not really such a thing as a cheap house build / extension any more
The cost of material for me to do the garage conversion Come in at 1750 not Inc window.

And that's me going all out.

Can't see why I need drawn up plans for a simple single garage conversion.

I'm not using a builder, so I cut out a massive amount of the cost.

I'll have to approach the council to ask.. sigh.
 
Soldato
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Whilst I appreciate there's no structural work assuming you have a door into the garage from the house already and you'll utilise the lintel over the garage door for your new window. If you're forming a habitable room from a formally unheated space you'll have to adhere to the uvalues for the walls roof and floor so your insulation will need to be up to spec. Any drawings would be straightforward enough though as the four walls already exist and you'll be framing inside it but it's more from the technical specification aspect so it's clear to the building inspector what the intended build is to be and if it's been carried out correctly. Again though I know the English system is different to that up here as we need to have all this stamped and approved before any building work begins.
 
Soldato
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It would become an issue if he wants to sell it on and the purchasing solicitor would ask for the relevant council paperwork if they're competent of course!
We don't plan to move for at least a decade.

I also plan to ensure insulation is above the spec with photos to provide proof.

Luckily it's a double skinned garage, so I don't need to worry about internal framing and insulation. The garage walls already been filled with insulation when they did the house years back.

The ONLY structural type work, is an addition of a 3/4 size door to the house... which I may or may not bother doing. Depends on how long I need to wait for my new lean too conservatory to be built behind the garage.

May just get on with it, my neighbours are all decent people.
 
Soldato
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How are you adding it up?

That row has around 1400 in fees again...

I don't plan on submitting any sort of plan.

That drops it to £1300.

It really makes zero sense... 1, which charges apply and 2, how they think it's suitable to charge so much.

My materials won't even cost that much!
Regularisation is essentially retrospective permission, so that shouldn't apply, and the additional fees shouldn't apply either if it's a standard conversion.

I don't recall if all of Plan Charge, Inspection Charge and Building Notice Charge, or just some, but it's £600 max with all 3.

if you speak to the council, I'm sure they'll correctly advise.
 
Soldato
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Location: Location:
See how much an Approved Inspector (non local authority) would charge. Tend to be cheaper, a lot more user friendly / amenable and quicker to respond.

Used an AI for my loft conversion and extension
 
Soldato
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To add, building insurance company will most likely insist any works have Building Control approval. That aside, I'd never condone doing construction without it.
 

Pho

Pho

Soldato
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Derbyshire
Not sure if this helps, but I called my local building control the other day as I'm also thinking about converting my double detatched garage. They told me the full plans option was £350+VAT or the building notice option was £400+VAT.

Either I got the wrong end of the stick, or yours are creaming off a lot of profit :/
 
Man of Honour
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“it was like that when I bought it”

Foiled by Google Street View.

I also don't advise that - in a town near me a couple had 2 garages built where they didn't go along with proper planning, etc. trying to save money then council prevented them using it (probably dobbed in by the neighbours who documented it all on Facebook) and insisted one was taken down and rebuilt to regulations and the other had to go through the whole planning process again with some kind of prohibition order in place - so in protest they parked on the street outside their house (road too narrow and on a corner) causing chaos for passing traffic resulting in one vehicle getting hit by a lorry and the police eventually doing them for parking too close to a junction... blah blah... 2 years down the line they ended up 1000s out of pocket compared to if they'd just done things properly.
 
Soldato
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I am in Derbyshire and have just applied for a regularisation for the garage conversion carried out by a previous owner around 15 years ago, and I paid £576, which I believe is slightly higher than if I were doing the works as a new project like you are.

I know it varies from one authority to another, but I wouldn't imagine it was that much that you should be paying over £1000.
 
Soldato
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I find it crazy how much councils can stick their nose into EVERYTHING. Whilst charging for the privilege.

I'll create a Basic plan myself, and contact the planning dept to see what I need to pay. I spoke to Admiral and asked about insurance... they confirmed I'd need the documentation to be covered for that room.

Sigh....

Its come down to me doing this ALL myself, as even getting a builder to put a 90cm high wall in with a window is over 3k! Materials alone are about £600 for me to do that bit. So... I'll watch a Youtube video and do it all myself :p

Can learn to do everything on Youtube these days lol
 
Soldato
Joined
17 Feb 2006
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8,867
Location
Winchester
I find it crazy how much councils can stick their nose into EVERYTHING. Whilst charging for the privilege.

I'll create a Basic plan myself, and contact the planning dept to see what I need to pay. I spoke to Admiral and asked about insurance... they confirmed I'd need the documentation to be covered for that room.

Sigh....

Its come down to me doing this ALL myself, as even getting a builder to put a 90cm high wall in with a window is over 3k! Materials alone are about £600 for me to do that bit. So... I'll watch a Youtube video and do it all myself :p

Can learn to do everything on Youtube these days lol
It's not crazy at all.

Building Regs are there to ensure any construction work is undertaken safely and to meet standards.

You do sound like you're attempting to become a cowboy builder who doesn't want to meet those standards.
 
Soldato
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13 Apr 2009
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UK
As above, people will not buy houses that don't have building regs for conversions. Just stop being a cheapskate and pay for it, or you'll paying even more down the line when you have to knock 10's of thousands off the price.

If you don't have building regs, and the new owners try to do further building work, they're liable to have to pay to "rectify" your conversion by converting back and having it done to regs. You'll have that negotiated off the price. Indemnity insurance doesn't cover that risk, and we had a solicitor advise us not to continue a house purchase based on this (and we did indeed pull out, and saw the house re-listed a couple of weeks later for £30k less!).

Oddly enough, we have a friend trying to get an extension done and most builders are turning their nose up at including building regs! Just goes to show the state of some tradesmen. Cowboys everywhere.
 
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