Explaining an

architects services

General information on the usual tasks
undertaken by an architect
June 2008


What an architect may do for you









Introduction
The root cause of disputes and complaints against architects is often an incomplete
understanding of the architects role and responsibilities in design, planning and
construction processes. If insufficient information has been provided, incorrect
assumptions can be made about the architects duties in a project. The purpose of this
leaflet is to provide brief explanatory notes on the services typically provided by an
architect in a building project. Special services or arrangements may be individually
negotiated with the architect.


Please note:
Right at the outset of a project with an architect it is important to be aware that if
permissions or approvals are required from local authorities the decision is out of the
architects control and cannot be guaranteed. Similarly building products, or the
performance and quality of the work of others, cannot be guaranteed by the architect.
Projects can over-run due to any number of circumstances over which the architect has
no control, not least of which is bad weather.


Contents:
Finance and Contracts
1. Architects fees and appointments:
2. Methods of calculating fees
3. Additional fees
4. Estimates of building costs
5. Progress

Statutory Approvals and Contract Administration
6. Planning permission and Building Regulations approval
7. Planning permission for the design
8. Building Regulations approval permission to build
9. Building contract administration
10. Monitoring construction
11. Time over-runs
12. Other consultants

Architects Certificates
13. Certificates issued under a building contract
14. Professional Consultants Certificate

Other Matters
15. Copyright
16. Reasonable skill and care
17. Requirements under the law.


Finance and Contracts

1. Architects Fees and Appointments
i Information on architects fees may be found in a leaflet entitled Working with an
Architect for your home which you can download from the RIBA web-site at
http://www.architecture.com/fileLibrary/pdf/02_Working_revise_v2.pdf , and in
an annual report: 'Architects fees: a survey of the fees charged by private architectural practices',
2007 edition, available from The Fees Bureau, a division of Mirza & Nacey
Research. There is no fixed fee scale in the UK, so an architect will charge a fee
taking into account the requirements of the project, his or her skills, experience,
overheads, the resources needed to undertake the work, profit and competition.

ii. Before the fee can be agreed, both architect and client should establish:
- the project details and services to be provided
- the procurement method
- an approximate construction cost
- the project timetable.

iii. The architect should set out the project details clearly, in writing, along with his or
her terms and conditions of engagement and the procedures for the calculation and
payment of fees and expenses. The architect may use the RIBAs Standard Form
of Appointment,
http://www.architecture.com/go/Architecture/Using/Contracts_306.html, a
bespoke contract or an exchange of letters.

2. Methods of calculating fees include:
- a quoted percentage of the final cost of the building work, or
- a fixed or calculated lump sum or sums, or
- time charges, or
- another agreed basis.
Different methods of calculating fees may be used for different stages in the
project but the architect and client should agree to this at the outset.

3. Additional fees
i. Additional fees are normally payable to the architect if, for reasons beyond his
or her control, he or she is involved in extra work or extra expense is incurred.

ii. For instance, if you
- repeatedly ask your architect to revise the scheme, or
- make constant alterations at a late stage in the detailed drawing preparation, or
- ask your architect to undertake additional work (beyond that which was
anticipated and agreed at the outset) -this may include deductions in the scope
or substitution of materials/components-,
it is only reasonable that you should pay additional fees, unless you have reached
an agreement that such work will be free of charge.

iii. As the project develops the cost estimates are likely to change and therefore if the
fee is a percentage of the construction cost, it will be calculated on the estimated


cost at that particular work stage. The fee for subsequent work stages may be
calculated on a different estimated construction cost.

4. Estimates of building costs
At the early consultation and ideas stage, it is notoriously difficult to attach an
accurate estimation of what the construction costs will be for any but the simplest
building projects. Market conditions may change, and in an area of, or at a time of,
high demand for good builders, tenders can come back much higher than originally
forecast.

5. Progress
Architects are expected to keep their clients fully informed of progress with their
project, and to alert them straight away to any changes. Where changes to the
agreed terms and conditions or service are necessary, the architect should set these
out in writing and make sure the client understands and agrees with them.


Statutory Approvals and Contract Administration

6. Planning permission and Building Regulations approval
No architect can guarantee that planning permission and/or Building Regulations
approval will be granted because these decisions rest with the local authority. When
engaged to submit an application, the architect should consider any local authority
guidelines and statutory requirements so it has the best chance of success.
Sometimes exemptions to guidelines and similar provisions will have to be
negotiated to achieve the best design solution for the project. The client will
generally be responsible for providing the architect with accurate information
about site boundaries, access and ownership rights.

7. Planning permission for the design:
i. Unless a project falls within the scope of Permitted Development (applicable to
certain minor types of building work like small conservatories, for instance), all
building projects must have planning approval.

ii. The Department for Communities and Local Government has an information
booklet, Planning: A Guide for Householders, which you can download from
http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1144635

iii. Planning permission is the responsibility of the local authority planning department
which is concerned with the visual appearance of the proposed work, its height
and size and whether it is sympathetic to its location, whether it will overlook
neighbouring properties, its distance from the road, and whether it conforms to
the local plan. The local authority will often specify that it requires sections and
elevations at a scale of 1:100. At such a scale, the amount of detail possible on a
drawing is constrained. Some authorities allow for minor modifications to the
design after it has been approved, others require the entire application to be re-
submitted. Therefore it is unwise to change the design once planning permission
has been granted.



8. Building Regulations Approval permission to build
i. This is the responsibility of the local authority building control department which
deals with the Building Regulations
www.direct.gov.uk/HomeAndCommunity/Planning/BuildingRegulations/fs/en .
Detailed drawings including itemised notes and specifications on how the building
is to be built are required. These drawings must identify the materials to be used
and detail the constructions compliance with all relevant Building Regulations and
any other statutory requirements (health and safety, disabled access etc.).
Therefore, Building Regulations drawings are generally far more detailed than the
drawings and design information required for planning approval. The Building
Control Officer (BCO) will visit the site at key stages in the construction for
inspections to ensure compliance with the Building Regulations. If the BCO has
not been present to witness the constructions of, for instance, the foundations, he
or she has the power to order anything constructed over them to be opened up so
that the inspection can be carried out.

ii. Every project for which permission is required will need approvals from both
departments, and application fees must be paid to the local authority for both
planning and Building Regulations. The client usually pays these directly to the
local authority, and not as part of the architects expenses.

9. Building Contract administration
i. A contract is a vital document as it is a legally-binding commitment between the
builder and the client to deliver the project. The architect administers this contract
impartially between both parties (client and contractor), although the architects
fees are generally paid by the client. The architect will then be responsible for
ensuring that the contract documentation is appropriate (there are many different
types of contract) and accurate and all items under the contract, such as variations
and certificates, are properly signed and issued. He or she will carry out periodic
site visits to monitor progress. The architect will make a professional judgment
regarding the required frequency of these visits, unless an alternative programme of
visits has been agreed with the client.

ii. The day-to-day supervision of the build itself will be the responsibility of the
contractor, who is also responsible for ensuring that the structure is built in
compliance with the building contract, the planning permission, Building
Regulations and Health and Safety requirements.

iii. As a party to the contract, a consumer client (usually an individual carrying out a
personal project) has rights under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts
Regulations 1999 (Statutory Instrument 1999 No. 2083) which may be found at
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1999/uksi_19992083_en.pdf As consumers, clients
will in any case have protection under general consumer legislation.

10. Monitoring Construction
i. An architect engaged to monitor construction of the project (which should not be
confused with contract administration) will be responsible for checking that the
construction conforms to the planning permission and Building Regulations and all
stages are properly completed to a satisfactory standard of workmanship. This will
involve periodic site visits to monitor progress (visually), but will not normally


involve the architect in detailed checking of dimensions or testing materials. The
contractor, on site, will supervise the work on a day-to-day basis and be
responsible for the proper carrying out and completion of construction works and
for health and safety provisions on the site.

ii. Some architects will offer more detailed inspection services for an additional fee.

iii. If the architect is neither administering the contract, nor monitoring the
construction, he or she may undertake site visits at the clients request, in order to
advise on progress. In this role of project adviser, it is understood that the
architect will be acting for the client, and not in the neutral, impartial role required
of a contract administrator or construction overseer.

11. Time Over-runs
The architect is not responsible for managing the builders programme of works,
nor for organising the work on site responsibility rests with the
builder/contractor, including the responsibility to notify expected problems. The
architect is however in a position to advise the client on the circumstances and if
those are reasonable may, on the clients behalf and if acting as contract
administrator, award extensions of time. Such work which is beyond the
architects control may result in additional fees.

12. Other Consultants
The architect is not responsible for the work undertaken by any other consultant
(such as a structural engineer) engaged on the project. Other consultants will
usually be engaged directly by the client and fees should be paid directly to them.
It is possible to engage an architect to provide all consultancy services. In this
arrangement the other consultants are sub-consultants of the architect and
responsible to him or her rather than the client direct. They are paid by the
architect whose fees will reflect this.


Architects certificates

NB. Architects Certificates are not warranties or guarantees.

There are different types of certificate, the most common of which are:

13. Certificates issued under a building contract
i. If the architect is administering the contract he or she will issue a certificate at
various stages in the construction, which will normally trigger client payments to
the contractor. Typically these are:

ii. Interim Certificates which confirm that work has been carried out to the
architects satisfaction, as determined by visual inspection (see section 10
(Monitoring Construction) above). These certificates will be used as authorisation
for the next tranche of payment for the works (and will sometimes identify an
amount of retention from the full amount).



iii. Practical Completion Certificate transfers possession of the building to the
client, and the Making Good Defects Certificate trigger the release of the
retention.

iv. The Final Completion Certificate will only be issued when the architect is
satisfied that there has been full compliance with the contract.

v. However, few small-scale domestic projects will use the type of building contracts
which require all of the above certification.

vi. Architects Independence
In issuing certificates under a building contract the Architect must remain
independent and impartial and so will not always be able to comply with a clients
wishes if those wishes conflict with the architects professional judgement.

14. Professional Consultants Certificate
These certificates are often independent of appointment/building contracts and
are sometimes required by mortgage companies and other lenders that are
members of the Council of Mortgage Lenders
http://live.cml.netxtra.net/cml/handbook/faqs. These are generally used for new
residential projects where the builder is not providing an NHBC
www.nhbc.co.uk/ or other warranty. If not a part of the initial commission, but
asked for later in the project, an additional fee will be required for the provision of
these certificates.


Other Matters

15. Copyright
Unless an alternative agreement has been made, the architect owns the copyright in
the drawings and documentation produced in the course of the project. The client
will usually have a licence to copy and use them only for purposes related to the
project. If stage payments have been made to the architect, and the stage
involving the planning submission has been completed and paid for, then the
client has the right to use the relevant drawings for the purpose for which they
were prepared (i.e. the planning application), regardless of any subsequent dispute
which results in the withholding of fees owed for any following project stages.

16. Reasonable skill and care
Architects are expected to exercise reasonable skill and care when carrying out
their work. This means that they should be suitably qualified, have adequate
resources to meet the projects requirements and the necessary proficiency to fulfil
their instructions satisfactorily. They should ensure they are informed and up-to-
date with guidelines and statutory requirements relating to the project. A failure to
exercise reasonable skill and care is not necessarily an indication of either
professional misconduct or incompetence.

17. Requirements under the law


RIBA Members are expected to conduct their practice of architecture in
accordance with all relevant legal requirements (such as business, tax,
discrimination, disability and employment law), without it being necessary to
mention specific legislation in either the Code or guidance notes. A breach of the
law, as evidenced by a finding by a recognised court or tribunal, may be considered
as evidence against a member, should a complaint about his or her professional
conduct be made.