In this blog post you will learn every you need about the cost of hiring an architect in the UK.

Whether you’re adding an home extension, converting a house into flats, renovating your commercial property or building new apartments, this article will show you how architects calculate their fees together with the hidden costs of architects and how to negotiate with your architect to get a good deal for your project.

Let’s get started.

How do architects calculate their fees?

In most cases an architect’s fees are calculated based on the final cost of construction; it is a set percentage of this. Percentages can range from 10 percent right up to 25 percent depending on the type and scale of the project.

Of course it can be difficult to accurately develop a definitive cost at the outset of the project so it’s common for architects to operate on an hour rate basis until this is known. In addition to hourly rate work the architect may ask for a retainer upfront to secure their services and enable them to begin work.

It’s also worth remembering that the final cost of construction is not the total project cost; it is exclusive of the soft costs like fees and testing. The soft costs generally come to around 25 percent of the hard costs.

Some architects will offer to work on a lump sum basis where a one off fee is agreed. This is often only an option for smaller, discrete projects with limited scope and a level of simplicity. Just be aware that if the scope or scale of the project changes your architect may ask for additional money to complete their works.

Architect fees for house extensions

The thing with residential extensions is that they are often very resource –intensive projects because working with and altering existing structures and fabric comes with great complexity. There are precious few opportunities with regard to repetition and no economies of scale to speak of and often there is the refurbishment of existing space thrown in to the mix.

Simple extensions may attract a lump sum fee, but in general the fee will be based on cost of construction; here’s a rough guide of what to expect:

• 14% based on £100k
• 13% based on £200k
• 12% based on £500k
• 11.5% based on £1m

Architect fees for residential refurbishments

Residential refurbishment projects are governed by the same rules as residential extensions in terms of issues, economies of scale and fees. Expect to pay similar percentages to those above.

Architect fees for self builds

Self builds are the type of project that lives or dies by the quality of the relationship that the client has with their architect. As a client you need to demonstrate that you are organised and professional; this way you’ll be showing your architect that you are serious and they’ll be more likely to go the extra mile for you.

For a self-build project you should expect to pay somewhere in the region of 8% of the cost of construction and it’s I important that you agree a fixed rate with your architect at the outset of your project. That way you won’t end up with any nasty surprises at the end of the project.

Architect fees for housing developments

For an architect, a new build home on a new or vacant plot of land is one of the simplest pieces of work they can be asked to carry out. As such this type of work attracts the lowest percentage fees; fees are generally calculated on a cost of construction basis. As a rough guide you might expect to pay the following for a new build home:

• 9.5% based on £100k
• 8.5% based on £200k
• 8% based on £500k
• 7.5% based on £1m

So markedly different from the fees associated with extensions that we talked about earlier.

Architect fees for commercial extensions

Commercial extensions can be tricky propositions as you are dealing with existing structures and fabric and your work has to dovetail aesthetically as well as practically. As such fees for commercial extensions tend to be a little higher than standard commercial new builds and you’d be looking at a percentage of construction cost of around 8% to 15% fee-wise.

Architect fees for commercial refurbishments

From a percentage of construction cost perspective, commercial refurbishments generally attract a fee of between 8% and 12% which reflects the fact that you’re working with an existing building, but there is perhaps less work to do from a structural perspective and more on the aesthetic front.

Architect fees for commercial new builds

In the main, new build commercial projects attract fees based on a percentage of construction cost and the percentages themselves range from 5% to 15%. Typically the lower end of this scale is more usual, particularly as the overall cost of the build increases.