Spent £20,000 on refurbishing a standard 1930s residence, yet the construction crew hasn't begun work!
Rewritten Article:
In the name of streamlining bureaucracy, the Government announces plans to launch an ambitious nationwide construction boom. But it's leaving me broke, as I'm shelling out a whopping £20,000 in fees just to renovate my home - before any actual work begins!
I've paid thousands for professional advice, planning permits, application processing fees, building regulation plans, noise-impact assessments, and more. And guess what? Many of these fees skyrocketed on April 1 - one even went up by over 100%!
My family moved into what we hope will be our forever home last spring – a charming 1930s four-bed detached house located on a quiet, non-through road just outside London. However, the house is plagued with black mold, outdated fixtures, and some downright quirky, broken stuff.
My plans for a kitchen extension, garage conversion, and an ensuite bathroom are modest, but I've been taken aback by the sky-high costs of getting planning permission. It's not just because I reside in London; most costs remain fixed nationally or similar across the country.
"While homeowners and buyers are aware that the cost of building work has skyrocketed since the pandemic, they often don't realize how expensive planning permission and its required processes can be," warns Victoria Killick, owner of FarleyWood, a Surrey real estate agency.
She advises homeowners to be well-informed about these costs to avoid spending more on a project than the added value of the improvements.
Here's what I've forked over so far – and the hidden fees you should be alert to before starting your own building project:
Design Services
First came the need for a measurement survey of the house and the plot, as well as a design for the extension and renovation. This package included input from a planning consultant to ensure the design aligns with the local authority's preferences.
A single architect would only take me on if they handled the design and project management, demanding a percentage of the total construction cost – a fee in the tens of thousands. Instead, I went with a company charging £3,468 (including VAT).
Application Fees
The architect had to submit the householder application to the local authority through an online planning portal. This initial cost me £258 (no VAT, but it jumped up to £528 on April 1) and a processing fee of £70 (which also increased to £85 since April 1).
The portal used to be operated by the tech firm TerraQuest Solutions and the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG). Now controlled by a private company, its profits rose by 20% to £1.2 million in 2023. The fees look set to increase by 10% each year. However, there's no evidence of improvements in quality or speed of the application process for homeowners.
Structural Report
It's wise to wait until the planning permission is granted before commissioning the calculations, as it may require amendments. However, given a typical lead time of 5 weeks to have the calculations drawn up, and an estimated 8-week wait for a planning decision, I opted to have them done as soon as I submitted my plans. Thankfully, we received permission with no changes needed.
The structural calculations cost £3,600, including VAT, and were done by an engineering firm, which also provided plans to ensure compliance with building regulations at a cost of £3,096.
Building Control
These plans must be approved by a building control body to ensure the construction meets safety and energy standards. You can choose between local authorities or private firms for this service. I'm expecting a bill of £1,500 (including VAT) if I opt for the municipal route, also requiring a 'service processing fee' of £150 plus VAT. This process could take up to 8 weeks. Going private can secure approval within 5 business days and costs anywhere between £1,800 and £2,000 (including VAT). According to Elizabeth Windsor of West Sussex-based design and build company Create Spaces, some 70% of clients choose the private route.
Party Wall Plan
The most significant fee I've encountered so far. If you're building walls or foundations within 3 meters of your neighbor's foundations, you'll need to submit a party wall agreement. In my case, it cost me almost £6,000 (including VAT) for my own party wall surveyor and two acting on behalf of both adjoining owners.
My surveyor charged £300 to issue two notices, £900 for two schedules of conditions, and £900 for two 'awards' (which provide a 12-month timeline for the notifiable work). The adjoining owners' surveyors billed me £2,900 for both sets of 'party wall matters' and £99.60 for travel expenses.
For smaller projects, it's possible for neighbors to come to an agreement directly without surveyors.
Noise Assessment
Installing an air-source heat pump to power three internal air-conditioning units necessitated its inclusion in the planning application (since heat pumps only used for heating don't). My local authority requested a noise-impact assessment to prove the pump wouldn't be too noisy. A 24-hour recording of background noise at my home and a report cost £1,704 (including VAT).
Planning consultants caution that this is just one example of a growing trend. "While tree reports, which typically cost less than £1,000, have always been a concern, the number of local authorities requiring other reports has drastically increased. These reports can be a major expense," says Ellen Cullen, a planning consultant at Fluent Architectural Design Services in Surrey.
"If you need an external flood risk consultant to do an assessment, that's likely going to cost £1,500 plus VAT," she adds. With planning permission already costing me nearly £18,000 and an additional bill of around £2,000 on its way for building control, there seems to be little support for homeowners wanting to improve their properties.
"The increasing number and costs of reports needed to accompany a planning application could deter homeowners from extending their homes," says Cullen. "Perhaps the purchasing power of household development as a potential tool for economic growth is being overlooked."
A representative from the MHCLG says: "We inherited a broken planning system that has stymied growth and created unnecessary obstacles. This Government is taking action to fix this – including making the system more flexible, easing rules on upward extensions, and ensuring that local planning authorities can adequately cover their costs to process applications effectively."
- Despite the government's plans for a nationwide construction boom, the exorbitant fees associated with renovating property, such as my home, have left me financially strained.
- The cost of building a 1930s home, even with modest extensions and renovations, is inflated by fees for design services, party wall plans, structural reports, application processing, and building control.
- Whitcombe's lifestyle renovation has involved unexpected expenses, including a noise-impact assessment due to installing an air-source heat pump, which cost £1,704.
- home-and-garden improvements have become increasingly expensive due to the growing trend of requiring more reports, such as external flood risk assessments and tree reports, that can amount to thousands of pounds in fees.
