Building Regulation charges

Building Regulation Charges (for applications submitted after 1 October 2010)

The charges for Building Regulation work are established at a level to cover the cost of the service so the applicant only pays for the service they need. Under the new Building (Local Authority Charges) Regulations 2010, there are two methods that Bracknell Building Control may use to establish the charge for building work:

* Standard Charges:
The majority of domestic extensions and alteration work will generally attract a charge which falls within our ‘Standard Charge’ tables. Charges will not be payable for certain aspects of work, carried out for the benefit of disabled persons.

The standard charges have been set on the basis that building work does not consist of, or include high risk or innovative construction which may require additional checking for compliance. Also, that the duration of the project from commencement to completion does not exceed 12 months. It is also assumed that the building work will be undertaken by a person or company who is competent to carry out the relevant design and building work. If not, your application may incur supplementary charges.

If the charge for your building regulations work is not listed as a standard charge it will be individually determined.

Please see more details in our Standard Charges tables for domestic and non-domestic work.

* Individually Determined Charges:
This method of determining the charge relates mainly to commercial projects or larger domestic schemes and includes all other work that is not listed in our ‘Standard Charges’ tables A to C. This includes:

Building work in relation to more than one building.
Building work consisting of a domestic extension where the floor area exceeds 60m².
Applications subject to a reversion charge (work reverting from an approved inspector to the local authority).
Building work consisting of alterations to a domestic property where the estimated cost of work exceeds £100,000.
Building work consisting of a non-exempt domestic garage or carport with a floor area in excess of 60m².
Non-domestic building work consisting of alterations, extensions or new build where the cost of work exceeds £100,000.
Work consisting of the erection or conversion of 5 or more dwellings or where the floor area of a dwelling exceeds 500m². For all new housing schemes please contact our office in the first instance for an individually determined quote.
If you are carrying out repetitive unit/dwelling types, multiple extensions and or/multiple types of alterations etc. we may be able to reduce the standard charge and you should enquire if an individual assessment would result in a lower application charge.

If your building work is defined as requiring an individual determined charge, please contact us at 01344 351106/351208 or email building.control@bracknell-forest.gov.uk with a description of the work.

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Transitional Provisions

Recovery of any charges against applications submitted prior to 1 October 2010 remain payable under the previous Scheme of Charges as indicated on correspondence issued.

* Where charges are payable:

Where FULL PLANS are submitted, the charges for Building Regulations are normally submitted in two stages; Plan Charge: This is paid at the point of application submission; Inspection Charge: You will be invoiced for this payment after the first relevant inspection has been carried out following the commencement of work on site.
Building Notice Charge: Should you submit a Building Notice, the appropriate Building Notice charge is payable at the time of submission. This covers all necessary checks and site inspections in relation to the work described in the notice.
Regularisation Charge: An application to regularise unauthorised work attracts a charge. The charge has been determined at 120% of the applicable Building Notice Charge. Please note that no VAT is payable on a Regularisation Charge.
We may agree to the payment of charges by instalments. The amount and timing of instalment payments must be agreed prior to the submission of a Building Notice, or the commencement of work in relation to a Full Plans submission. Payment by instalments would not be appropriate in respect of Plan Charges.

* Where charges are NOT payable:

We will not charge for initial consultation and providing pre-application advice on meeting Building Regulation and related standards. Please note that where more extensive and detailed pre-application advice is required, we may advise you if we need to charge a discretionary fee based on our initial involvement. However any preliminary charge will be deducted from your full plan application fee when you are ready to submit your scheme.
Where plans have been either approved or rejected for substantially the same work.
For work which solely benefits people with disabilities in relation to dwellings. A certificate or letter is required from a health professional (for example from a doctor or occupational therapist) in support of an application for exemption from charges. Please contact Building Control for further information about the liability to pay charges on particular projects for people with disabilities. This exemption also extends to the provision or extension of a room which is or will be used solely for carrying out for the benefit of the disabled person of medical treatment which cannot reasonably be carried out in any other room in the dwelling; or for the storage of medical equipment for the use of the disabled person; or to provide sleeping accommodation for a carer where the disabled person requires 24-hour care.
The above exemption also applies to buildings to which the public have access for purpose of providing means of access for disabled persons by way of entrance or exit to or from the building or any part of it; or for the provision of facilities designed to secure the greater health, safety and welfare of disabled persons.
For the insertion of insulating material into an existing cavity wall, where the work is certified to an approved standard.
For work which solely involves the replacement of existing windows or doors, or where the work is certified by installers registered under the FENSA, Gas Safe, Certass or BSI Competent Person Schemes.

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Electrical work and installations

Please note that the ‘Standard Charge’ tables incorporate an additional charge column which applies only when notifiable electrical work is NOT carried out using an appropriately qualified/Part P registered electrician. A Part P registered electrician is a qualified electrician who also has the necessary building regulations knowledge to enable his accreditation body to certify his work. In order to recover our costs to verify the installation works, if anyone other than a competent person undertakes the electrical work (even if it was your intention to use a competent person at application stage) the additional Part P charge may be payable. Your electrician should be aware of the definition of notifiable work. In most cases this will not be applicable, however please contact us if you have any queries regarding when the additional charge will be payable.

* Please note:

The application cannot be registered until such time as the correct standard or individually determined charge has been made.
Floor areas are measured internally.
Discounts may apply to repetitive works, please ask for details.
All cheques should be made payable to Bracknell Forest Borough Council. Credit/Debit card payments are also accepted.
These notes are for guidance only and do not substitute for the full scheme which may be inspected at the Building Control office, The Building (Local Authority Charges) Regulations 2010 ‘Scheme for the Recovery of Building Regulation Charges’.
Should you submit an incorrect amount, you will be advised.
Estimated cost of work means an estimate accepted by the Local Authority, of such reasonable amount as would be charged for the carrying out of that work by a person in business to carry out such work. This definition means that no reduction can be allowed for DIY work. Estimates should exclude VAT and land acquisition costs, internal decoration costs, floor coverings and fittings (if not shown on the plans) and professional fees paid to architects, engineers or surveyors. Where subject to a quotation, it will be beneficial to have sight of an elemental breakdown of costs if one is available.

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Complaints About Charges

If you have a complaint about the level of charges you should initially raise your concern with the relevant officer in the first instance. The Council has a comprehensive complaint handling process, and if you feel that your complaint has not been satisfactorily answered, please contact the Head of Building Control and Land Charges direct on the details below.

Partner with Bracknell Building Control

Please contact us if you are interested in partnering with Bracknell Building Control for your projects regardless of where they are developed in England and Wales. Under the LABC Partner Authority Scheme your Building Control application will be plan checked by Bracknell Building Control – giving you a single point of contact for timely and on-going consistency for all your submitted projects.

How to contact us

If you require a quote for any of our services, or have any difficulty in calculating charges, please do not hesitate to contact us:

Building Control
Time Square
Market Street
Bracknell
Berkshire
RG12 1JD

Telephone: 01344 351106 or 01344 351208
Fax: 01344 351193
Email: building.control@bracknell-forest.gov.uk