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A rear extension in blockwork with glazed double doors, a wheelbarrow and scaffolding on a sandy floor in front of it

Regularisation drawings from £765

Built or converted without building regulations approval? We survey what exists, draw it as built and prepare the application for the council’s regularisation certificate.

£765 £615 drawings + £150 survey (£765 total), no VAT to add

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In a sentence or two: your plans, and any feedback from the council so far.

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The short answer

Regularisation is the route for building work carried out without building regulations approval. You apply to the building control authority, which may ask to see work opened up, and may issue a regularisation certificate. Our fee is £615 drawings + £150 survey (£765 total), no VAT to add; building control sets its own charge.

Regularisation drawings

from £765

Drawings
£615
Measured survey
£150
Total you pay
£765
VAT
None to add
  • A measured survey of the finished work: structure, openings, stairs, insulation where visible, drains and ventilation
  • As-built plans and sections, with the description of the unauthorised work the application needs
  • A drawing of any additional work likely to be needed to bring the work up to the rules of its time
  • The written application for a regularisation certificate, prepared for you
  • A list of the places building control may ask to open up, so you can plan for it
  • An independent check of every sheet, and free redraws of our drawings until approval

£615 drawings + £150 survey (£765 total). A starting fee: we confirm one fixed figure after checking your address. The council’s own fee, where there is one, is paid to the council.

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How regularisation runs with us

  1. What was built, and when

    We establish the date the work was finished, because the standards that apply are those in force when it was carried out.

  2. Survey

    We measure and photograph the work, noting the beams, bearings, insulation and drainage that can be seen.

  3. Drawings

    As-built drawings and a list of what is concealed and may need opening up.

  4. Application

    The application goes to the council or to a registered approver, with the description and plans the regulation asks for.

  5. Inspection and certificate

    Building control inspects, may ask for tests or opening up, and issues a certificate or lists the work still needed.

What a regularisation certificate is, and is not

Regulation 18 applies where unauthorised building work has been carried out on or after 11 November 1985. The owner applies in writing with a description of the work, plans of it and, so far as reasonably practicable, plans of any additional work needed to make it comply with the requirements that applied when it was done (regulation 18).

The authority may require reasonable steps, including laying open the work and making tests. A certificate, if given, is evidence but not conclusive evidence that the requirements were met. It is still what a buyer’s solicitor and a lender look for.

  • For work done on or after 11 November 1985 without approval
  • Judged against the rules in force when the work was done
  • May involve opening up concealed structure, drains or insulation

Why not leave it alone?

Breaking the building regulations is an offence under section 35 of the Building Act 1984, with a maximum on indictment of two years in prison or a fine. The council can also serve a notice requiring offending work to be removed or altered, but not after 10 years from the completion of the work (section 36).

In practice the trigger is usually a sale or a remortgage: without the certificates, the buyer’s solicitor will ask for a regularisation certificate or indemnity insurance. The GOV.UK guide says the same, that without approval you will not have the compliance certificates you need when you sell.

Planning is separate

A regularisation certificate deals only with building regulations. If the work also needed planning permission and did not get it, that is a separate matter, and a retrospective planning application is the remedy. We handle the two together where both are needed, from one survey.

Tell us at the start what you know about the work: when it was built, by whom, and whether any approval was ever sought. It saves visits.

Retrospective planning application · Building regulations drawings

Regularisation in numbers

Questions about regularisation

Will they make me knock it down?

The council has power to require removal under section 36, within 10 years of completion. The more usual route is a list of work needed, such as a lintel, insulation or a fire door, then a certificate once it is done.

Is it cheaper to take out indemnity insurance?

Indemnity insurance covers the risk of enforcement but does not prove the work is safe or compliant, and some lenders still ask for the certificate. We can explain both and you decide.

What if the work was done by a previous owner?

The current owner may apply. The regulation allows the owner to apply, and we survey what is there, whoever built it.

Source: Building Regulations 2010, regulation 18: regularisation (legislation.gov.uk)

Do I need to open up the walls myself?

Only where building control asks to see concealed work. We tell you which parts are likely, and often a camera or a few small holes is enough.

Put the work on the record

Send the address and what was built. We reply with the route and a fixed fee, from £615 drawings + £150 survey (£765 total).

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