Drawings and a survey to support a regularisation certificate cost from £615 drawings + £150 survey (£765 total) at Fixed Fee Plans, and the council's regularisation charge is paid to the council. We measure and draw the finished work, work out what the rules required on the day it was built, and prepare the application your building control team expects.
A regularisation certificate is for work that was built without building control being told: an extension done by a previous owner, a loft converted before you bought the house, a knocked-through wall with no beam on record. The conveyancer asks for the paperwork and there is none. This is the route that gets it.
What is a regularisation certificate?
It is a certificate from the building control authority that the work you carried out, or a previous owner did, meets the building regulations that applied when it was built. Regulation 18 of the Building Regulations 2010 allows an application for unauthorised work carried out on or after 11 November 1985, and the certificate is evidence, though not conclusive evidence, that the named requirements were met.
It is not planning permission, and it does not approve the work as good practice. It shows that a council surveyor looked at what was there, had it opened up where needed, and was satisfied. That is usually what a buyer's solicitor or lender wants to see.
What will the council ask for?
Regulation 18(2) says the application must include a statement that it is made under that regulation, a description of the unauthorised work, a plan of it, and a plan of any extra work needed to make it comply, so far as reasonably practicable. Those four items are our drawings and our description.
Under regulation 18(3) the council may then require you to lay the work open for inspection, make tests and take samples. That might mean taking down a plasterboard ceiling to see a beam, drilling a floor to see the insulation or running a drain camera. We list the likely places in advance, because opening up is the part owners fear and the cost depends on how much of it there is.
Which rules does the work have to meet?
The rules that applied when the work was done, not today's. Regulation 18 defines the "relevant requirements" as those applicable at the time, which matters for a 1990s extension whose insulation would fail current Part L but met the standard of its day. We research the version in force, and say in the specification which rules we are measuring against.
Where the work falls short, the council tells you what is needed. It might be a steel beam checked by structural calculations, a fire door, a smoke alarm or a drain that needs lining, and the new work is drawn and specified by us, not guessed at by a builder. If you also made a change that needed planning permission, a retrospective application is a separate piece of paperwork.
What happens if I do nothing?
Sometimes nothing, for years. But the risk is real: contravening the building regulations is an offence under section 35 of the Building Act 1984, and section 36 lets the council require the owner to pull down or alter work that does not comply. More often the problem is a sale: GOV.UK says that without approval you will not have the certificates of compliance you may need when you want to sell your home.
If you are still building, do not wait: building regulations drawings at £545 drawings + £150 survey (£695 total) get you the approval before the work, which is cheaper than a regularisation after it. And if you are unsure the work needed approval at all, the permitted development checker is free and tells you what we would tell you. Our Part A guide covers when beams need calculations.
Frequently asked questions
How much does regularisation cost?
Our fee for the survey, drawings and specification is from £615 drawings + £150 survey (£765 total). The council also charges for the regularisation application, and that charge is set by your council and paid to it.
Can I regularise work I did myself last year?
Yes. Regulation 18 covers any unauthorised work done on or after 11 November 1985, whoever did it. The same application serves a previous owner's extension and your own.
Do I have to take the walls apart?
Not necessarily. The council may require work to be laid open, but only as far as it thinks appropriate to find out what was built. Good drawings and photographs from our survey may reduce how much has to be opened.
Is a regularisation certificate the same as a completion certificate?
No. A completion certificate follows approved building work. A regularisation certificate follows work that had no approval, so it is evidence rather than proof, and it is judged against the rules of the day.