Measured building survey in London, £150 fixed

What is a measured building survey in London?

A measured building survey in London is a laser-measured record of a building's rooms, walls, openings and roof as they actually stand, costing £150 fixed from Fixed Fee Plans, and it supplies every dimension later drawn on plans, elevations and sections for a planning application, building regulations pack or certificate of lawfulness. Older London buildings are rarely square or level, so a plan lifted from an estate agent's brochure will not survive rules that are tested in metres.

How much does a measured survey cost in London?

A measured survey in London costs £150 fixed from Fixed Fee Plans, with no extra charge for borough or postcode and no council fee, because a survey is not an application; it is stage one of five in the £895 planning permission drawings service and is also sold on its own. The council's £548 householder fee arises only at submission and is never folded into this price. The fee calculator adds up whichever stages you pick, the London drawing price list shows every fee in one table, and the guide to planning drawing costs in London explains where a survey sits in the whole.

What does a measured building survey in London deliver?

A measured building survey in London delivers a laser-measured record of the property inside and out; the plans, elevations and sections drawn from it are the next stage, priced at £500 as existing drawings and supplied as CAD files that you keep and can pass to any builder or designer. Keeping the stages separate means you see what each payment buys. The same £150 opens building regulations drawings at £795 and a certificate of lawfulness at from £950, and a windows and doors planning application at £1,250 can start from one too.

Which London projects need a measured building survey?

Any London project tested against a measured limit needs a measured building survey: a single-storey rear extension under the 3m or 4m depth limit, a loft conversion under the 40m³ or 50m³ volume limit, or an HMO bedroom against a licensing minimum floor area of 6.51m², and the table gives each limit and its source.

A bedroom that passes at a guessed area can fail at the real one, which is why the HMO drawings service starts from this survey, and why a certificate of lawfulness under section 192 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 rests on drawings that prove the proposal sits inside the limit.

What happens before and during the survey?

Before a London measured survey we need access to every room, plus any loft, cellar or outbuilding the project touches, and during it we check conservation area and Article 4 status; if the measured building differs materially from your description, we stop and tell you before any further stage begins. Mention alterations that may not be on record: the converted garage, the removed chimney breast.

Is a measured survey the same as a building survey?

A measured survey is not a building survey: a measured survey, £150 here, records dimensions for drawing, while a building survey such as a RICS Home Survey assesses condition, meaning damp, defects and the state of the roof, and neither replaces the other. A condition report tells a buyer what to fear; a measured survey tells a designer what to draw.

How long does a survey take, and do I need one for planning?

A London measured survey is usually carried out within five working days of booking, the complete planning service reaches a submitted application in about three weeks, and the council then has the statutory eight weeks to decide a householder application, a clock separate from ours. A council validates on scaled, accurate drawings of the existing building, with a site location plan at 1:1250 and a block plan at 1:500. It does not ask for a survey by name, but inaccurate existing drawings are what commonly stall an application. Unsure whether you need one at all? Try the permitted development checker first.

Can I buy a London measured survey on its own?

You can buy a London measured survey on its own for £150: it suits you if another designer is drawing, if an engineer needs true dimensions before sizing a beam, or if you are weighing a purchase and want real floor areas, and nothing further is due until you choose to go on. The survey is the measurement only; the CAD drawings are the separate £500 existing drawings stage. If you go on to instruct drawings from us, the £150 you paid is taken off the drawings total, so you never pay for the survey twice.