What sits inside the price
Planning drawings show the council what you will build and how it looks. Building regulations drawings show a builder and a building control officer how it is put together: foundations, floor and wall build-ups, roof construction, stairs, drainage, ventilation, fire protection and insulation. Ours start at £905 inc survey and are drawn from the measured survey so that dimensions can be relied on.
The set adds construction details, a drainage layout, notes on fire safety and escape, and a materials specification. Your builder can price from it, which is the quiet saving: a vague set leads to variations.
The building control bill, and the choice behind it
You must use a building control body: the council, or a private approved inspector. Private firms now have to be registered with the Building Safety Regulator, and operating without registration is a criminal offence. Council charges are set by each council's charging scheme to recover the cost of the service, so they differ from borough to borough.
We are LABC partnered, and we will tell you which route suits the job. Ask for the building control quote before you commit to a builder, since it is a real line in the budget.
Full plans or building notice
A full plans application is checked before work starts, and the body must decide it within five weeks, or longer if you agree in writing. A building notice lets you start sooner but has no approved drawings behind it, so a problem is found on site, after the money is spent. For a loft or extension we advise full plans.
Either way, notices follow. The building control body must be told when you intend to start, and work may start two days after the notice. It must also hear when work has started and when it is complete, each within five days.
Why the drawings need to be right
Anyone who contravenes the regulations risks a criminal charge: up to two years in prison, or a fine, on indictment. Design work must also be done by someone competent to do it, a duty set out in regulation 11F, and our technologists are chartered members of CIAT.
Energy rules are also changing. The 2026 edition of Approved Document L takes effect on 24 March 2027 for most work, with transitional arrangements for plans deposited earlier. We draw to the version that applies on your start date.
How to order
If we drew your planning set, the technical drawings follow from it. If another designer did, we work from their sheets and survey the house ourselves. Read what each sheet contains on our building regulations drawings page.
The figures, with sources
5 weeks
Time a building control body has to decide a full plans application, unless longer is agreed in writing.
Source: Building Regulations 2010, regulation 14A, checked 15 Oct 2026
2 days
Wait after giving notice of intention to start before work may begin.
Source: Building Regulations 2010, regulation 16, checked 15 Oct 2026
3 years
Life of a building notice before it lapses unless work has started.
Source: Building Regulations 2010, regulation 13, checked 15 Oct 2026
RBCA
Private building control firms must be registered with the Building Safety Regulator since 6 April 2024.
Source: GOV.UK, Registered building control approvers, checked 17 Oct 2026
Reg. 7
Councils set their building control charges by their own scheme, to recover the cost of the service.
Source: Building (Local Authority Charges) Regulations 2010, regulation 7, checked 17 Oct 2026
2 years
Greatest prison term on indictment for contravening building regulations.
Source: Building Act 1984, section 35, checked 17 Oct 2026
24 Mar 2027
Date Approved Document L 2026 takes effect for work that is not higher-risk building work.
Source: Approved Document L Volume 1, 2026 edition, checked 15 Oct 2026
Questions
Do I need building regulations drawings for every extension?
Usually, because building regulations apply even when planning does not. A few small works are exempt, and we tell you in the free check.
Can my builder draw it instead?
They can, but a full plans application needs drawings to a standard the body can approve. Many builders prefer to price from a set a technologist has checked.
Is the building control charge in your fee?
No. It is paid to the body you choose. We help you compare the council with private firms.
What if the inspector asks for changes?
We amend the sheets at no charge until approval, and answer queries within five working days.
The fee for building regulations drawings
Building regulations drawings
from £905
inc survey (£705 if you supply measured drawings). No VAT to add.
Get a fixed quote from £905What you get
- A measured survey of the existing house, included
- Plans, sections and construction details to build from
- A drainage, ventilation and fire safety layout
- A materials specification your builder can price
- Free amendments until building control approves
