Fees - Building Control
What fee do I pay?
When you apply for Building Regulations you have to pay a fee. These charges apply in addition to Council Tax payments as they are specific to individual properties and not the community of Poole. The fees are reviewed annually, and cover the cost of us checking your plans and subsequent site visits.
All fees paid in respect on a Building Regulation submission are non-refundable.
Charges are made for the following applications:
Full Plans application -
- A Plan Charge: paid when plans are deposited for the consideration, passing or rejection of plans; and
- An Inspection Charge: paid on demand following the first inspection for all the inspections of the building work that is included on the plans deposited.
Building Notice Application -
- A Building Notice Charge: paid when submitted, for consideration of the building notice and associated site inspections.
Pleae note that the sum of the plan charge and the inspection charge is equal to the building notice charge. For the charge payable in respect of any other type of Building Regulation submission please contact us on the details in the box at the top right hand corner.
Payment - please make cheques payable to the 'Borough of Poole', for card payments please call or visit us on the details in the top right hand corner box of this page.
If you do not check the plans on Building Notice applications, why are the fees the same as for Full Plan applications?
As no plan check is made, additional reliance is placed on the inspection stage of the process to ensure the Building Regulations are complied with.
This translates into a requirement for either more inspections being necessary, or the inspections made taking longer than would be the case with a Full Plans application, hence the total cost is the same.
Why do I pay a fee?
We are required to cover all our costs from charge income as none of the burden can fall on the Council Tax payer.
We employ experienced and professional Building Surveyors to deal with your application, who between them have a wealth of local knowledge. We spend considerable time checking your plans, advising on how to comply with the Regulations and, in particular, carrying out regular site inspection visits. Our fees are fixed no matter how difficult your application may be.
On average we visit the site 8 times as work progresses, but our fee covers you for as many inspections as the District Building Surveyor feels necessary - be that 1 or 100.
We are easy to contact, offer expert advice and respond the same day to requests for a visit (provided the request is made before 10.00 am) - few other organisations can offer that degree of service. If you compare our charges with those of calling out a professional surveyor just once or twice, we think you will agree that they are more reasonable than they first appear.
How to pay
A Building Regulations Fee Sheet is available from us, providing a guide to the appropriate charge for your proposal. The fee sheet is comprised of three 'Schedules' depending on the nature and size of the project.
Schedule 1 SET CHARGES FOR DWELLINGS (incl. flats) UP TO 300M² AND NOT EXCEEDING 3 STOREYS
New houses, bungalows or flats up to three storeys or 300m² attract a flat rate fee, a sliding scale sets the fee in proportion to the number of dwellings proposed. For new dwellings more than three storeys or 300m² please contact us for further advice.
Schedule 2 SET CHARGES FOR SMALL BUILDINGS AND EXTENSIONS
Flat rate fees are payable for domestic extensions, such as a kitchen or garage extension, and the amount payable is related to the new floor area.
In the case of more than one extension to a dwelling the total floor areas of all extensions are aggregated in determining the charge payable.
Where the total floor area of an extension to a dwelling exceeds 60m² a Schedule 3 charge applies. The sum of the plan charge and the inspection charge, or the Building Notice charge, must not be less than £545.11 + VAT.
Where an extension or alteration to a dwelling consists of the provision of one or more rooms in the roof space a Schedule 3 charge applies. The sum of the plan charge and the inspection charge, or the Building Notice charge, must not be less than £361.05 + VAT.
Any alterations not associated with the extension will attract a separate fee based on the estimated cost of the alteration work.
Schedule 3 OTHER WORKS NOT COVERED BY SET FEES
All other fees, including all fees for commercial building works, are related by table to an estimate of the cost of the work.
The 'Estimated Cost' is the estimate, accepted by the authority, of a reasonable amount that would be charged for carrying out that building work by a person in business to carry out such work. VAT and any professional fees paid to an architect or surveyor should be excluded. This estimate must be given in writing when the application for the work is submitted.
Windows, rooflights or doors - Where the building work relates to a dwelling house and consists of the installation of one or two windows, rooflights or doors on which the regulations impose a requirement, the total charge will be based in the estimate of cost of undertaking the works.
When to pay
The appropriate fee should be paid on submission of the application to us.
Payments
Cheques made payable to 'Borough of Poole'. Other method of payment we accept are:- cash or debit/credit card (contact details in the top right hand box of this page).
The total fees paid are the same whether on a Full Plans or Building Notice application. On a Full Plans application you normally pay a plan fee when you make the application and an inspection fee, which you are invoiced for when you commence work. With a Building Notice application the total fee is paid when you make the application.
All fees are non-refundable.
Please note that new fees are effective each year from 1st April. Please contact the us for further advice.
If the work is over £20,000 please contact us for the relevant fee.
Exemption from fees
Applications for Building Regulations are normally subject to a fee being paid on submission.
Charges are not payable in respect of work that is carried out for the benefit of a disabled person in accordance with Regulation 9 of the Building (Local Authority Charges) Regulations 1998 which states that:
"(1) A local authority are not authorised to fix by means of a scheme and recover a charge:-
(a) Where they are satisfied that the whole of the building work in question consists of an alteration; and,
(b) Where the building work is:-
(i) Solely for the purpose of providing means of access to enable disabled persons to get into or out of an existing building and to or from any part of it, or of providing facilities designed to secure the greater health, safety, welfare or convenience of such persons; and,
(ii) Is to be carried out in relation to:-
(a) An existing building to which members of the public are admitted (whether on payment or otherwise); or
(b) An existing dwelling which is, or is to be, occupied by a disabled person.
(2) A local authority are not authorised to fix by means of a scheme and recover a charge which consists solely of a charge in respect of building work for the provision or extension of a room in a dwelling where they are satisfied that the sole use of the room is or will be:-
(a) For the carrying out of medical treatment of a disabled person which cannot reasonably be carried out in any other room in the dwelling; or
(b) For the storage of medical equipment for the use of a disabled person; or
(c) To provide necessary accommodation or a necessary facility by adapting or replacing accommodation or a facility which already existed within the building which was incapable of being used, or used without assistance, by the disabled person.
(3) In this regulation, "disabled person" means a person who is within any of the descriptions of persons to whom section 29(1) of the National Assistance Act 1948, applied, as that section was extended by virtue of section 8(2) of the Mental Health Act 1959, but not taking into account amendments made to section 29(1) by paragraph 11 of Schedule 13 to the Children Act 1989."
Proof of entitlement as identified in item (3) above may be requested prior to a Building Regulation application being accepted without a fee. If you are unsure about whether or not you need to pay a fee with a Building Regulation application, please contact us.
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