Sussex Building Control fees and charges

How we set our charges

Sussex Building Control is a not-for-profit organisation and does not have to generate profits for shareholders. The charges for Building Regulation work are therefore intended to cover the cost of the service. There are two methods that the Authority may use to establish the charge for building work:

• Individually determined charges, and
• The establishment of a standard charge

To reduce the number of invoices and delays in payment, and to offer a more efficient service we advertise a total fee payable for all categories of work. If you wish to pay a separate plan charge and inspection charge, you will need to contact us to confirm the relevant fees.

Charges have been set for the functions prescribed in Regulation 4 of the Building (Local Authority Charges) Regulations 2010, namely:

• A plan charge, payable when plans of the building work are deposited with the Authority.
• An inspection charge, payable on demand after the Authority carries out the first inspection in respect of which the charge is payable if not paid in advance.
• A building notice charge, payable when the Building Notice is given to the Local Authority.
• A regularisation charge, which is payable at the time of the application to the Authority in accordance with Regulation 21 of the Building Regulations.
• Chargeable advice, payable on demand where pre-application advice exceeds 1 hour and has been agreed in advance. This charge may be discounted from a subsequent application for the work in question.

Standard charges

Standard charges include works of drainage in connection with the erection or extension of a building or buildings, even where those works are commenced in advance of the plans for the building(s) being deposited.

These standard charges have been set by the Authority on the basis that the building work does not consist of, or include, innovative or high risk construction techniques and/or the duration of the building work from commencement to completion does not exceed 18 months. In these circumstances supplementary charges may apply or the charge will be individually determined. We will contact you within two working days of receipt of your application if we consider this to be the case with your application.

Where works are not completed and archived, an additional charge of £69 will be required to inspect and complete an application where it is more than two years since the last inspection.

The charges have been set on the basis that the design and building work is undertaken by a person or company that is competent to carry out the relevant design and building work referred to in the standard charges tables. If not, the work may incur supplementary charges.

If chargeable advice, given in respect of any of the work detailed in Table B, results in less time being taken by the Authority then a reduction in the standard charge will be made.

If the Authority consider it necessary to engage and incur the cost of a consultant to provide specialist advice or services in relation to a particular aspect of building work, these costs may be added to the standard charge or included in an individually determined charge.

Where a suitable electrical certificate under BS 7671 cannot be provided an additional charge may be applied.

Individual determination of a charge

Standard charges for domestic extensions and alterations are set out in Table B below. If the work relates to new dwellings, commercial building alterations or is not listed as a standard charge in the table it will be individually determined in accordance with the principles and relevant factors contained within the regulations.

In order to determine a charge, we may require the following additional information:

• The floor area of the building(s)
• The estimated duration of the building work
• The use of competent persons or Robust Details Ltd
• Any accreditations held by the builder or other member of the design team
• The nature of the design and whether innovative or high risk construction is to be used
• Any repetition of build types

Additional Charges

If the authority consider it necessary to engage and incur the cost of a consultant to provide specialist advice or services in relation to a particular aspect of building work, these costs may be added to the standard charge or included in an individually determined charge.

Where a suitable electrical certificate under BS 7671 cannot be provided an additional charge may be applied.

If more than 2 years has elapsed since the last inspection a reactivation charge of £69 will be applied when a request for an inspection is received.

If an application is submitted by post or payment is made by cheque then an additional administration charge of £30 will be applied.

If your building work is defined as requiring an individual assessment of a charge please contact us.