Building Control Fees

Ashford Building Regulation fees are non-profit making. They are only set to recover the cost of the service being provided.

There is generally a standard charge for the domestic projects that are detailed below. We often have to provide unique quotes for projects that have a complex design or if there is more than one element being built. An example would be two extensions, or an extension and a loft conversion.

Detailed information of what is and what is not covered in our service is contained in the terms and conditions.

Fees helpline

If you cannot find the answer to your question below and require any help regarding fees, please contact the building control office on 01233 330282, or email Building Control who will be happy to assist you.

Standard charges

There are standard charges for garages, extensions, loft conversions, alterations and certain non-domestic work. These are detailed in the fees guide below. However, please note that we offer individual quotations on request. Please contact the office direct on 01233 330282 or email Building Control who will be happy to help.

ABC Building Control Services Standard Charges (from 22 October 2018) – Charges are inclusive of VAT
Category	Description	Full Plans - Plans Charge	Full Plans - Inspection	Building Notice & Total Charge
1	Single dwelling house under 300m²	£350	£550	£900
2	Two dwellings each under 300m²	£400	£890	£1290
3	Single storey garage up to 60m²	£195	£255	£450
4	Detached garage up to 60m² with room over	£195	£400	£595
5	Single storey extension under 100m²	£195	£495	£690
6	Two storey extension under 100m²	£195	£625	£820
7	First floor extension under 40m²	£195	£355	£550
8	Loft conversion under 60m²	£195	£505	£700
9	Garage conversion	£195	£260	£455
10	Installation of up to two beams of lintels	£290	N/A	£290
11	Installation of up to 10 replacement windows	£230	N/A	£230
12	Installation of solar panels	£230	N/A	£230
13	Installation of heat producing appliance	£230	N/A	£230
14	Part P electrical work	£270	N/A	£270
15	Alterations up to £5,000*	£270	N/A	£270
16	Mezzanine floor up to 500m²	£380	£460	N/A
17	Standard shop fit up to 500m²	£360	£410	N/A

*For alterations over £5,000, please contact us for an individual quote.

Find out more about methods of payment.

New housing and flats

The standard charges for a single house up to 300m² is included in standard charges table above. If your project is in relation to a flat, or more than one dwelling, then please contact us for a unique quotation.

What do the charges cover?

Plans charge

This is payable when the application is deposited:

If making a full plans application. This covers the technical checking of plans, calculations, certificates and specifications and the issuing of a formal decision notice
If making a building notice application. This covers the checking of any plans, calculations or details submitted or additional time on site or in the office ensuring compliance without full plans details

Inspection charge

An inspection charge is payable on commencement of works:

It is applicable to full plans and building notice applications. This covers on site spot checks of various stages of construction through to satisfactory completion including all office based work, travel, checking certificates and issue of completion certificate
If multiple works are constructed at the same time which reduces the number of inspections, then the inspection charge may be reduced accordingly

Your Surveyor will determine the stages of construction they wish to see and will need notification from you the day before so a visit can be planned. Ordinarily these will include:

Commencement and foundation excavations prior to concreting
Oversite preparation prior to concreting and damp proof course
Foul or surface water drainage before covering and tested
Structural steel or timber
Compliance inspections
Completion

Individually determined charges

This applies to most commercial/non-domestic projects and projects not in our standard charges. There is an option to agree a fee which is unique and based on the anticipated work involved by building control. In order to provide a unique fee, it may be necessary to see the design.

An individually determined charge will be required for applications involving more complex work. This includes work to multiple extensions, or a combination of work categories, or for work not listed in our standard charges.

If this is an option you would like to follow please email the Building Control team or call the team on 01233 330282.

Standard charges for domestic electrical installations

There will be an additional charge where domestic electrical installations are not to be certified by an installer registered with one of the government's competent persons schemes. This fee will be in relation to installing each unit. This allows us to select a contractor who will establish if the work meets the requirements of approved documents part P.

Regularisation application fees

Where building work has been carried out without building regulation consent, a regularisation application may be submitted seeking retrospective permission.

A fee at 150% of the NET building notice fee shall be payable in full with the application. This extra cost covers the time in establishing if completed work complies, advising on opening up of the structure and the additional risk of certifying a structure where elements cannot be fully inspected.

Re-submission of a previous applications

When you re-submit a previously refused application there will be no additional plan fee to pay if it is essentially for the same work and no additional checking is required.

Amendments to plans or on site

Minor changes to an already approved application can usually be accommodated. Our priority is ensuring finished work on site complies with the building regulations not on burdening customers with reapplications. There may be an additional fee to cover the extra work needed if the amendment leads to us spending more time checking details or more time on site.

Work exempt from fees

A free may not be required if the work is being carried out solely for the benefit of a disabled person. Examples would be if the work provides medical facilities or improves access to the building. Please contact the fees help line for further guidance.

Methods of payment

Make a payment online.

The easiest and quickest way to pay a building control fee is online.

You can process a payment 24/7 and the fee is instantly processed through to the administration team.

BACS transfer:

Bank: NATWEST
Account name: ASHFORD BOROUGH COUNCIL COLLECTION ACCOUNT
Account: 74313363
Sort code: 60-01-21

Please don't forget to quote your reference number or site address on the instruction.

Phone by credit/debit card: 01233 330324

Party Wall Act

We are not involved in the Party Wall Act. This will be carried out by surveyors appointed by the person carrying out the work, or by each owner affected. Further information about the Party Wall Act can be found on the government website.

We do not get involved in boundary disputes. Encroachment of a building, including drainage, gutters, foundations etc. is not a building regulation matter and is not grounds for enforcement or rejection on plan or on site.

Terms and Conditions

Building control inspections are not a substitute for clerk of works or architect supervision. It is essentially a series of third party spot checks intended to provide reasonable confidence that work complies with the Building Regulations but not definitive proof
Responsibility for constructing in compliance with the Building Regulations rests with the owner who should carefully select contractors, designers, engineers and other professionals
Structural calculations submitted as part of the application will be risk assessed to determine the level of checking required. Where an engineer is professionally qualified, has indemnity insurance and is using established design methods, these calculations may receive just a cursory check or simply be accepted
Every effort will be made to ensure that the estimated hours for charging is consistent with the actual hours spent. Further payment may be requested should the actual service hours exceed the original estimated hours. For the purposes of this calculation, the first hour will be disregarded. This may arise where:
1. The project turns out to be more complex than anticipated and additional time is needed to check construction details, e.g. structural foundation design once soil condition fully established
2. The project is changed after initial plans check requiring addition checking time of details or calculations
3. Calculations not produced to recognised methods require additional checking/consultant input
4. The customer has requested a higher service level than quoted for
5. After risk assessment of the professionals/individuals/company involved it is decided that the design or construction requires additional checking time to ensure compliance
6. Additional inspections are requested due to site conditions or the contractor splitting the work into stages or phases
Where the actual service hours are less than originally estimated, the council may make an appropriate refund of part of the charge on satisfactory completion of the application. For the purposes of this calculation, the first hour will be disregarded
Charges assume work will continue at a reasonable speed through to satisfactory completion. Where no visit has been requested for a period in excess of 12 months we will automatically archive the file as 'non active' for the purposes of building controls standards. If reactivated, it may be necessary to re-estimate the charge for remaining inspections to reflect current costs/hourly rate
Charges assume that the building work uses standard materials and construction techniques and that supporting details and calculations have been prepared using recognised industry standard processes.
The council is tasked with ensuring continued improvement in the standards of building for health and safety and the conservation of fuel and power. Where a project has been dormant for a period where the building regulations have changed, the building control and Quality Place Making Manager reserves the right to apply new regulations particularly in respect of life safety
Refund of charges on cancellation of an application is at the discretion of the building control and Quality Place Making Manager. Any refund will take into account hours spent by surveyors and administration to the point of cancellations and a minimum of £40 will be retained
Applications remain invalid and of no effect until the plans fee has been received in full or where the fee cannot be agreed upon. We will write or contact you to advise that the application is invalid and what you need to do to validate it. If an application remains invalid for more than 28 days we may return it and refund fees paid minus any cost we have incurred (see i)
For certain work under the building regulations you will also need to apply for planning permission under the Planning Acts (you may have to pay extra for this). For more information, please phone the Development Control Team on 01233 331111
Please note we have a document retention policy of 15 years.