Costs & Pricing
181 sources in the library on costs & pricing, 40 on this page cited in a published note. Each one says what the document covers and what it is good for. Name a source to see which document it is and where to read it. One at a time. Page 2 of 5.
- very strong RN-EUGGMV cited
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
MHCLG's official explanatory booklet on the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, applying to England and Wales, Crown copyright 2016. Explains the Act's effect on the Building Owner who wishes to carry out work covered by the Act and the Adjoining Owner who receives notice of it. Defines 'owner' for the Act's purposes as including anyone holding the freehold title, holding a leasehold title for a period exceeding one year, under contract to purchase such a title, or entitled to receive rents from the property, so a single property can have more than one owner. States clearly that the Act is separate from planning and building regulations control: agreement under the Act does not remove the need for planning permission or building regulations compliance, and neither does planning permission or building regulations compliance remove the need to comply with the Act. Carries a disclaimer that the booklet is a general guide and not an authoritative interpretation of the law.
Cited in Cost to Underpin a House, Knocking Through & Removing Chimney Breasts, Loft Conversion Cost by London Borough, Loft Conversion Mistakes to Avoid and 5 more.
- very strong RN-T86SW1 cited
Natural England
Natural England's standing advice to planning authorities on bats. It tells councils to ask for a survey on conversions where a building is likely to hold a roost, citing large roof timbers and minimal lighting.
- very strong RN-MMT1DO cited
Office for National Statistics
The ASHE Table 14 dataset gives annual estimates of paid hours worked and earnings for UK employees by sex and by full-time or part-time status, broken down to four-digit Standard Occupational Classification, which is the level that isolates individual construction trades such as bricklayers, carpenters, plasterers and electricians. Released 23 October 2025 as the 2025 provisional edition (zip, about 10.7 MB), with revised and provisional editions back to 2017. A correction dated 19 December 2025 suppressed annual pay estimates for SOC 3312 police officers in some areas; construction occupations are unaffected.
Cited in Bathroom Remodel Cost: 2026 UK Price Guide, Bedroom Extension Cost: 2026 UK Price Guide, Blown Window Repair Cost: 2026 UK Price Guide, Bricks Per 1000 Cost: 2026 UK Price Guide and 31 more.
- very strong RN-FPPUSL cited
Ofgem
ECO4 is the fourth phase of the Energy Company Obligation across Great Britain. It applies to measures installed from 1 April 2022 and runs until 31 December 2026 following a nine-month extension; ECO3 closed on 31 March 2022 and ECO4 came into force in July 2022. The scheme places a Home Heating Cost Reduction Obligation on medium and large energy suppliers to promote measures that improve the ability of low-income, fuel-poor and vulnerable households to heat their homes, funding insulation and heating upgrades for both homeowners and tenants. Ofgem also lists the Great British Insulation Scheme as a separate obligation on this page.
Cited in All You Need To Know About Double Glazing Repairs, Best Loft Insulation: Materials Compared, Boiler Upgrade Scheme & Heating Grants 2026, Cavity Wall Insulation Materials Compared and 19 more.
- very strong RN-WLAM99 cited
Ofgem
The scheme that pays a household for exported solar electricity, and the successor to the Feed-in Tariff. It launched on 1 January 2020 and obliges certain licensed electricity suppliers, the SEG Licensees, to pay small-scale generators for low-carbon electricity exported to the National Grid. Eligible technologies are solar PV, wind, hydro, anaerobic digestion and micro-CHP, at installed capacities up to 5 MW, or up to 50 kW for micro-CHP. Crucially for a payback calculation, Ofgem does not set the rate: SEG Licensees determine the tariff rate, contract length and other terms, the only floor being that a SEG rate must always be above zero. Payments are calculated from export meter readings, so an export meter is a practical precondition. Ofgem publishes the list of current SEG Licensees annually, and advises generators to shop around between them.
Cited in Electric Heating Options Compared, Solar Battery Storage: Is It Worth Adding.
- very strong RN-8LC718 cited
Ofgem
Defines the two classes of SEG licensee. A supplier is a Mandatory SEG Licensee if it has at least 150,000 domestic electricity customers as at 31 December of the immediately preceding year, and it cannot opt out of offering SEG payments. A supplier with fewer than 150,000 domestic electricity customers as at the same date is a Voluntary SEG Licensee and may choose to opt in. SEG licensees choose the tariff rate, contract length and some other terms they offer generators, and any SEG tariff rate offered must always be above zero. Useful for correcting the common phrasing 'more than 150,000 customers', which misses both the 'at least' and the 'domestic' qualifiers.
- very strong RN-B7IYNU cited
Planning Portal
Planning Portal guidance on working from home in England; it lists a marked rise in callers or noise disturbing neighbours as signs of a material change of use needing permission.
- very strong RN-NQ2LI6 cited
Scottish Government
The Scottish domestic Technical Handbook's mandatory standard 4.5 on electrical safety, in Section 4 (Safety).
Cited in How to Wire Ceiling Rose, Wiring a Garage: Power, Lights & Consumer Units.
- very strong RN-O7TO5H cited
Scottish Government (gov.scot)
SCOTLAND, with no England equivalent: a seller in Scotland must commission a Home Report before marketing, where an England seller commissions nothing and the buyer pays for their own survey. Introduced in 2008 to give buyers and sellers better information on property condition before offers are placed, to stop duplicate surveys and valuations, and to stop artificially low asking prices. The Home Report comprises three documents: an Energy Report, a Property Questionnaire and a Single Survey, and only surveyors registered with or authorised to practise by RICS may produce the Single Survey. It was developed with the Home Report Implementation Group, whose members included RICS, the Law Society of Scotland, the Council of Mortgage Lenders, the National Association of Estate Agents and Citizens Advice Scotland. A five-year review followed a December 2013 consultation and a January 2015 research report.
- very strong RN-FEGNXI cited
The National Archives
Section 1 of the 1982 Act: a contract transferring goods is covered whether or not services are also provided, so the materials in a work-and-materials contract fall under it.
Cited in Quote vs Estimate: What's the Difference.
- very strong RN-Q28KFX cited
The National Archives
Section 13 of the 1982 Act implies, where the supplier acts in the course of a business, a term that the service is carried out with reasonable care and skill.
Cited in Quote vs Estimate: What's the Difference.
- very strong RN-EQVKC0 cited
The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk)
Section 50(1) treats anything said or written to the consumer by or on behalf of the trader about the trader or the service as a term of the contract, if the consumer took it into account when deciding to enter into the contract or when making any later decision about the service. Section 50(2) subjects that to anything said on the same occasion that qualified it, and to any change expressly agreed. Section 50(3) treats information provided under regulations 9, 10 or 13 of the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/3134) as contract terms, and section 50(4) makes any change to that information ineffective unless expressly agreed. This is the basis for holding a builder to a verbal promise, a written quotation figure or a stated completion date.
Cited in Construction Law for Homeowners: The Complete Guide, Consumer Rights Act 2015 & Building Work Explained, Variations & Extras: Managing Changes to Building Work, Quote vs Estimate: What's the Difference.
- very strong RN-D47WL4 cited
The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk)
Section 34(1) imposes a duty on any person who imports, produces, carries, keeps, treats or disposes of controlled waste, or who controls it as a dealer or broker, to take all reasonable measures to prevent a section 33 offence or a breach of regulation 12 of the Environmental Permitting Regulations, to prevent waste escaping, and on transfer to pass it only to an authorised person or for authorised transport purposes together with a written description of the waste. Section 34(2) exempts an occupier of domestic property in respect of household waste produced on the property, but section 34(2A) still requires that occupier in England or Wales to take reasonable measures to ensure any transfer of that household waste is only to an authorised person. Section 34(3) lists authorised persons, including waste collection authorities, waste management licence holders and carriers registered under the Control of Pollution (Amendment) Act 1989. This is why a homeowner must check a waste carrier licence before paying for a clearance or grab lorry.
Cited in Asbestos in the Home: Survey, Removal & Cost, Skip Hire Costs & Sizes.
- very strong RN-JXUGP4 cited
The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk)
The source for why a skip on the road needs a council permit while a skip on your own driveway does not. Section 139 makes it unlawful to deposit a builder's skip on a highway without the permission of the highway authority, and that permission names the highway and may attach conditions on the siting of the skip, its dimensions, the painting of the skip for visibility, the care and disposal of its contents, its lighting and guarding, and its removal at the end of the period. The owner must keep the skip properly lighted during the hours of darkness, clearly and indelibly marked with the owner's name and telephone number or address, and remove it as soon as practicable after it has been filled. Breach carries a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale, with a defence where the breach was due to the act or default of another person and the owner took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence. A builder's skip is defined as a container designed to be carried on a road vehicle for storing materials or disposing of rubble and waste.
Cited in Keeping Neighbours Onside During Building Work, Loft Conversion Cost by London Borough, Skip Hire Costs & Sizes.
- very strong RN-CEXTH9 cited
The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk)
Section 169(1) bars anyone erecting or retaining scaffolding or any other obstructing structure on or over a highway in connection with building, demolition, alteration, repair, maintenance or cleaning work unless the highway authority has issued a licence in writing, and the licence may carry any terms the authority thinks fit. Section 169(2) obliges the authority to grant a licence once reasonable particulars are supplied, unless the structure would cause unreasonable obstruction or a differently arranged structure would obstruct less; 169(3) gives a right of appeal to a magistrates' court against refusal or against the terms. Section 169(4) requires the licence holder to light the structure from half an hour after sunset to half an hour before sunrise, to comply with written directions on traffic signs, and to protect statutory undertakers' apparatus. Breach is an offence under 169(5) with a fine up to level 5 on the standard scale. This is the legal basis for the pavement licence fee that appears on a scaffolding quote.
Cited in Loft Conversion Cost by London Borough, Scaffolding Costs Explained.
- very strong RN-P72NY0 cited
The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk)
The licence a builder needs to put materials, spoil or a temporary excavation in the street, distinct from the skip permit in section 139 and the scaffolding licence in section 169. s.171(1) permits a person, with the consent of the highway authority for a street that is a highway maintainable at the public expense, temporarily to deposit building materials, rubbish or other things in the street or to make a temporary excavation in it. s.171(2) lets the authority attach any conditions it thinks fit, expressly including conditions to prevent damage and to secure access to statutory undertakers' apparatus, which is where fencing, lighting, reinstatement and duration requirements are imposed. s.171(6) makes contravention of a condition, failure to comply with a direction, or neglect of the fencing, lighting or removal duties an offence carrying a fine not exceeding £10 for each day the contravention continues. s.171(7) lets the authority remove the obstruction or fill the excavation itself and recover its reasonable expenses from the person convicted.
Cited in Builders' Merchant Delivery: Costs, Lead Times & Tips.
- strong locally RN-PQMGLN cited
Brent Council
Brent Council's page on scaffolding, hoarding and other highway licences, giving the notice needed and the licence fees by length and period.
Cited in Loft Conversion Cost by London Borough, Scaffolding Costs Explained.
- strong locally RN-8SHYOS cited
City of Doncaster Council
City of Doncaster Council's page on highway licences for scaffolding and hoarding, with the fee from 1 April 2026 and the application forms.
Cited in Scaffolding Costs Explained.
- strong locally RN-DTPW7T cited
Greater London Authority
The London Plan's heritage chapter (paragraph 7.1.2) lists London's designated heritage assets, including more than 1,000 conservation areas.
Cited in Loft Conversion Cost by London Borough.
- strong locally RN-3GYHIK cited
Lambeth Council
Lambeth Council's list of its conservation areas names the Clapham Conservation Area as CA01, alongside other Clapham conservation areas. There is no area called Clapham Old Town Conservation Area.
Cited in Loft Conversion Cost by London Borough.
- strong locally RN-IX8965 cited
London Borough of Bromley
Bromley council's own skip licence page. It states the fee and validity period for a licence to place a skip on the highway in the borough.
Cited in Skip Hire Costs & Sizes.
- strong locally RN-BBZHPJ cited
London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham
Hammersmith & Fulham council's skip licence page. It states the borough's fee per fortnight, showing London fees can sit well above the national typical range.
Cited in Skip Hire Costs & Sizes.
- strong locally RN-DJ1SZ3 cited
London Borough of Lambeth
Lambeth's 2026/27 pre-application fee schedule, effective 1 April 2026, charges £820.73 net or £984.88 gross for householder proposals in a conservation area; written-only advice outside one is £491.
Cited in Loft Conversion Cost by London Borough, Mansard Loft Conversions: The Complete Guide.
- strong RN-L7LZK3 cited
AACE International
AACE International's published extract of 18R-97 (revision of 7 August 2020), whose Table 1 gives a Class 5 process-industry estimate a range of -20% to -50% low and +30% to +100% high.
Cited in How Cost Estimates Work: Levels, Accuracy and Error Margins.
- strong RN-RZ7S8G cited
AACE International
AACE International's own published extract of its building estimate classification practice (revision of 7 August 2020), including Table 1. It defines the five estimate classes by maturity of project definition.
Cited in How Cost Estimates Work: Levels, Accuracy and Error Margins, Renovation Contingency: How Much to Allow.
- strong RN-Z3SQTD cited
Chartered Trading Standards Institute, Business Companion
CTSI's official business guidance on Part 1 Chapter 4 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which governs the supply of services to consumers, including where goods are supplied as part of a contract for work and materials. Sets out what the consumer can expect as statutory rights, and the tiered remedies for breach: repeat performance first, then price reduction, then other remedies. Defines a trader as a person acting for purposes relating to their trade, business, craft or profession, including a partnership, company, charity, government department, local authority or public authority, and makes a trader responsible for contracts made in its name by someone acting on its behalf. Also covers exceptions where the consumer cannot claim, time limits for court action, unfair contract terms, negligence, misrepresentation and the trader's identity. Guidance is for England and Wales.
- strong RN-11CCPS cited
Royal Institute of British Architects
The RIBA's overview of its Plan of Work 2020. Its contents list the eight stages from Stage 0, Strategic Definition, to Stage 7, Use, and each stage chapter sets out the cost tasks.
Cited in How Cost Estimates Work: Levels, Accuracy and Error Margins, Renovation Contingency: How Much to Allow.
- strong RN-Y4KKG3 cited
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
The RICS rules for order of cost estimates and cost plans, 3rd edition (2021, reissued 2022). It states that its estimating and formal cost planning stages are aligned to the RIBA Plan of Work 2020 and the RIBA Digital Plan of Work.
Cited in How Cost Estimates Work: Levels, Accuracy and Error Margins, How Renovation Notes Prices Its Figures, Renovation Contingency: How Much to Allow.
- strong RN-25YUC4 cited
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
The RICS professional statement that defines the three survey levels a homebuyer is offered, and the standard a note should cite instead of describing surveys loosely. Page updated 17 June 2026. The 1st edition was published in 2019 and became effective in 2021; it sets mandatory requirements for RICS members and regulated firms in the UK delivering residential property surveys, and it replaced and harmonised the earlier RICS residential survey publications. It defines four report products, RICS Home Survey Level 1, Level 2 (survey only), Level 2 (survey and valuation) and Level 3, and a member needs a Home Surveys Licence to produce any of them. The old report formats were permitted only during a transition period from 1 March to 31 August 2021, and the new reports have been mandatory since 1 September 2021. The standard is currently under review: a public consultation on a 2nd edition ran from 19 August to 14 October 2025, informed by a survey of 325 members and a UK consumer survey of over 1,400 homeowners, with proposed changes covering AI and drone or camera-pole technology, greater clarity on survey levels, optional valuation at all levels, guidance for additional risk dwellings, and retrofit assessments. RICS states members should continue to use the 1st edition until the 2nd edition takes full effect, so any note dating the change should say the 2nd edition is not yet in force.
- strong RN-K45EY4 cited
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
The rulebook behind every professional cost per square metre figure, and free to download as a PDF from RICS, which makes it directly citable rather than paraphrased. NRM 1 is issued by the RICS Quantity Surveying and Construction Professional Group as one of a suite of three (NRM 1 order of cost estimating and cost planning, NRM 2 detailed measurement for building works, NRM 3 order of cost estimating and elemental cost planning for building maintenance works), all reissued in October 2022 as practice information having been published in October 2021 as guidance notes, with no material change to content. NRM 1 covers quantification of building works for cost estimates and cost plans, and also how to quantify the items that are not measurable building work: preliminaries, overheads and profit, project team and design team fees, risk allowances, inflation, and other development and project costs. It sets out the floor area method for order of cost estimates and defines the terms a note should use precisely: cost per m2 of gross internal floor area (cost/m2 of GIFA) is the unit rate which, when multiplied by the gross internal floor area, gives the total building works estimate, and gross internal floor area (GIFA, also gross internal area or GIA) is defined in Appendix A with reference to the latest edition of the RICS Code of Measuring Practice. It also distinguishes GEA (gross external area) and NIA (net internal area). This is the source to cite for why a cost per m2 figure is meaningless without stating which area basis it uses.
Cited in Quantity Surveyors for Homeowners: Do You Need One, Quote vs Estimate: What's the Difference.
- strong RN-3UXQIL cited
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
The RICS scope table for a Level 1 survey, useful for a note explaining why the cheapest survey misses things. A Level 1 is a visual inspection less extensive than Level 2 or 3, with no tests of building fabric or services, no detailed advice on repairs, and RICS states it is better suited to conventionally built, modern dwellings in satisfactory condition. Concretely: windows are opened at a minimum of one on each elevation; in the roof space the member will NOT remove secured access panels or lift insulation, stored goods or other contents, and inspects only what can be seen from the access hatch; floors are inspected at the surface only with no lifting of carpets, floor coverings or floorboards, no moving of furniture and no hatch lifting or inverted head and shoulders inspection, although a heel-drop deflection test is still done; and inspection chamber covers to drains and septic tanks are NOT lifted. RICS advises the client to consider upgrading to Level 2 or 3 before the service is undertaken if more detailed advice is needed.
- good RN-5UYY2Y cited
CITB
CITB's Construction Workforce Outlook for 2026 to 2030. It estimates 41,200 extra construction workers needed each year, around 206,000 over the five years.
Cited in UK Tradesperson Day Rates 2026.
- fair RN-F2KFAO cited
British Geological Survey
The British Geological Survey's explainer on clay shrink-swell. It describes tree roots drying clay so that it shrinks and causes uneven settlement or subsidence.
Cited in Cost to Underpin a House, Cracks in Walls: When to Worry, Underpinning: When You Need It & Cost.
- fair RN-LHSA1M cited
HomeOwners Alliance
HomeOwners Alliance example costs: about £250 for a management survey of a 2–3 bedroom house and £400–£600 or more for a refurbishment and demolition survey.
Cited in How Much Does It Cost to Renovate a House in 2026? (UK).
- fair RN-SS0MZK cited
The Church of England
The Church of England's own register of closed churches for sale. Each listing states the disposal waits on a Pastoral (Church Buildings Disposal) Scheme and is subject to restrictive covenants.
- fair RN-MFZ9ZJ cited
US Navy, US Army and US Marine Corps
The joint US Navy, Army and Marine Corps manual on construction estimating: levels of estimate, materials takeoff and waste, equipment and labour estimates, and estimating data by MasterFormat division. Approved for public release.
Cited in How Cost Estimates Work: Levels, Accuracy and Error Margins, How Renovation Notes Prices Its Figures.
- supplier figure RN-UFAPQ3 cited
B&Q
B&Q's step-by-step fitting guide for UK ceiling lights. It explains how to identify loop-in wiring by counting the cables at the rose: two at the last rose, three at an intermediate one.
Cited in How to Wire Ceiling Rose.
- supplier figure RN-POBW9W cited
BAL (Building Adhesives Ltd)
Maker's product page for BAL Grout, a standard cement-based tile grout. It is for joint widths up to 3 mm and lists a 24 hour setting time.
Cited in How to Regrout Tiles.
- supplier figure RN-SZ4LHG cited
BAL (Building Adhesives Ltd)
Maker's product page for BAL's wide-joint grout. It is for joints between 3 mm and 20 mm on walls and floors.
Cited in How to Regrout Tiles.
- supplier figure RN-X4YQJB cited
BG Electrical (Luceco)
BG Electrical's technical data and installation sheet for its ceiling accessories, including ceiling roses wired on a looping circuit. It tells installers to sleeve lighting conductors in the live colour so live connections are clearly identified.
Cited in How to Wire Ceiling Rose.