Paying the architect

You and your architect should decide in advance whether expenses will be included within the agreed fee or charged separately. Always remember that you need to reach this agreement at the very start.

Calculating the cost of architects’ fees is part of your house building project’s overall cost and is traditionally calculated in one of three ways.

Percentage is based on the total construction costs in the building contract including site works; agreement is needed on the services provided, nature of the work and an approximate construction budget.

Lump sum fees work best when the project can be clearly defined right from the start and there are no surprises for either side.

Time charged is the flip-side of that coin and best where the amount of work cannot ‘reasonably’ be seen; an agreed upper limit is needed and fees are often staged.