Your team and the process
What does a design appointment cover, stage by stage?
Short answer
A full design appointment for a home project can cover six stages: the brief and survey, concept options, the planning drawings and application, technical design and the Building Regulations application, tender, and construction through to completion. Each stage should end with something you can hold and a decision you make before the next one starts.
The appointment should say in writing which stages are included, what each produces, the fee, and what is excluded. If you sign it as a consumer at home or online, you normally have 14 days to cancel, and the designer should not start within that period unless you expressly ask.
The six stages
| Stage | What happens | What you should have at the end |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Brief and survey | Agree what you need, the budget and the timing. Commission a measured survey. Check the planning history and constraints | A written brief, survey drawings and a first cost range |
| 2. Concept options | Develop options for meeting the brief, compare them, choose one. Take pre-application advice if the planning position is uncertain | An agreed concept and an updated cost range |
| 3. Planning | Prepare the planning drawings and supporting documents, submit the application, lawful development certificate or prior approval, and respond to the council | A decision: 8 weeks for a householder application or certificate, 42 days for larger home extension prior approval |
| 4. Technical design and Building Regulations | Develop the construction drawings and specification, coordinate the structural engineer's calculations, prepare a schedule of works, and apply for building control approval | Building control approval, or an application under way, and a complete tender package |
| 5. Tender | Invite suitable builders to price the same information, compare the tenders and recommend one | A tender report and a signed building contract |
| 6. Construction | Administer the contract: inspect, issue instructions, value the work, certify completion and deal with defects | A completed building, a completion certificate from building control and a settled final account |
The stage boundaries line up with the RIBA Plan of Work 2020, set out in the stages for a home project. Some appointments stop at stage 3; others run to the end. Neither is wrong, but you need to know which you have.
What each stage decides
- Stage 1 decides whether the project is worth pursuing. Under regulation 11K(1) of the Building Regulations 2010, a designer must not start design work unless satisfied that you are aware of your duties as client. Expect that conversation here.
- Stage 2 fixes the idea. Changing it later means redoing work at each stage after it.
- Stage 3 fixes what you are allowed to build. The permission is for the drawings approved, so later changes may need a further application.
- Stage 4 fixes what the builder will price. Gaps here become variations on site. Where more than one contractor will work on the project, the principal designer and principal contractor must be appointed in writing before construction starts (CDM Regulations 2015, regulation 5; Building Regulations 2010, regulation 11D). See who you need to design an extension.
- Stage 5 fixes the price and the contract. How to run it is in how to tender building work.
- Stage 6 turns the contract into a building. The role is in what a contract administrator does.
What the appointment should say
- Scope by stage, with the drawings and documents each stage produces.
- The fee, and its basis: fixed per stage, a percentage of the construction cost, or hourly. Published figures are in design and professional fees.
- Exclusions: surveys, the structural engineer, party wall surveyors, planning and building control fees, and anything else you will pay for separately.
- Who appoints the other consultants, and who coordinates their information.
- Changes: how a change to the brief after a stage is signed off is priced.
- Ending the appointment: notice, and what is paid for work done.
Your rights as a consumer
If you are buying the service as a consumer, the law adds two sets of rights.
The Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49, treats every contract to supply a service as including a term that the trader must perform the service with reasonable care and skill.
If the contract is made away from the designer's business premises, for example at your home, or at a distance, by email or online, the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 give you 14 days from the day the contract is made to cancel without giving a reason (regulations 29 and 30).
The trader must not begin the supply of a service before the end of the cancellation period provided for in regulation 30(1) unless the consumer (a) has made an express request, and (b) in the case of an off-premises contract, has made the request on a durable medium.
If you ask the designer to start within the 14 days and then cancel, regulation 36(4) says you pay for the service supplied up to the time you cancel, in proportion to the whole. Regulation 36(6) says you pay nothing for that period if the designer did not give you the required information about the right to cancel and its cost. So if you want the survey booked straight away, say so in writing.
How Parallel describes its process
The practice's own description of its process, from its practice page, is this: "We begin by understanding the brief and the needs of each client. We assess the opportunities and constraints of the site, develop options collaboratively and guide the planning strategy. We coordinate clear technical information with engineers and specialists, tender the project to suitable contractors and manage construction through to completion and aftercare."
Sources
- Building Regulations 2010, regulations 11D and 11K legislation.gov.uk
- Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, regulation 5 legislation.gov.uk
- Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 legislation.gov.uk
- Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, regulations 29, 30 and 36 legislation.gov.uk
- Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015, article 34 legislation.gov.uk
- The RIBA Plan of Work 2020 publisher's page