Building control fees

The following fees apply from 1 April 2025.

Schedule 1

Charges for the creation of or conversion to new dwellings up to 3 storey’s and a floor area no greater than 300m2 . (Please contact Building Control for a quotation for developments comprising of more than 3 dwellings). See Guidance notes.

Schedule 2

Charges for extensions, conversions and other alterations - Domestic works only. See Guidance notes.

1. Extension including controllable conservatories, not including basements (for more than one extension, use the total sum of internal floor area)

2. Small domestic garages and carports and stores (detached garages less than 30m2 may be exempt)

3. Erection or non-habitable extension of detached building not used solely as a garage/carport/store

4. Loft conversion

5. Conversion of garage to habitable space

6. Controllable work (Not Competent Person Schemes)

7. Multiple work (e.g. extension and basement/loft conversion/works)

8. Energy efficiency improvements (Not Competent Person Scheme)

Schedule 3

Works not listed in Schedules 1 or 2 for domestic properties, or for all works to non-domestic properties e.g. Structural alterations, refurbishments, internal alterations. See Guidance notes.

Schedule 4

Building Control – Supplementary/Miscellaneous Fees. See Guidance notes.

Supplementary Fees (Including VAT)

• Schedule 4 All general costs such as chargeable advice, requests for viewing documentation, dealing with previously deposited applications etc - £120 per hour
• Building Safety Regulator Fees for work related to Higher Risk Buildings - £120 per hour

Miscellaneous Fees (Including VAT)

• Electronic copy of the Approval Notice - £50
• Electronic copy of the Completion Certificate - £50
• Hourly charge for responding to enquiries regarding house sales - £120 per hour

Guidance notes in relation to Schedule 1, 2, 3, and 4 fees

Oxford City Council Building Control cannot accept building regulation applications for higher-risk building work or stage of higher-risk building work or for work to existing higher-risk buildings. Applications for building work to higher-risk buildings must be made to the Building Safety Regulator (BSR).

Building Notice Fee

Building Notice applications can only be used for works to domestic dwellings and not where the premises are put to a relevant use e.g., a commercial premise, where a Full Plans application will be required. In addition, a Building Notice should only be submitted for minor building works. Building Notices cannot be used for new buildings or dwelling where they front a street, or for sites where a H4 sewer is identified, in these cases an Approval with Full Plans is required.

Domestic Approval with Full Plans/Building Notice/Reversion/Regularisation Applications Fees

Structural work to open an extension to the existing dwelling and associated electrical works are included in the fees of Schedule 2. However, where the project includes other works not directly associated with the extension or conversion, an additional charge will be required from Schedule 3. For instance, the installation of a ground floor WC or shower room elsewhere within the existing dwelling would be subject to a fee in addition to that required for the extension/conversion.

Regularisation Fee

The Regularisation charge is a single payment required at the time of application in respect of unauthorised building work commenced on or after 11th November 1985. The Regularisation charge is applied at an additional 50% of the total Building Control Application fee. No VAT is payable with this type of application.

Site Inspections

Following receipt of your application you will be informed of the elements of the project Building Control wish to inspect. The fees are based on an estimated amount of work involved in assessing compliance with the Building Regulations. Where further visits are requested by the applicant or builder, in addition to those specified by the Building Control surveyor, or the Building Control surveyor identifies necessary enforcement visits, an additional fee of £120.00 including VAT per visit, will be charged to the applicant.

Conservatories

Conservatories under 30m² floor area (That meet the required glazing amounts of 75% of the roof & 50% of the walls) are exempt from control under the Building Regulations. However, where the conservatory is to be open to the existing dwelling house and/or where heating from the existing dwelling house is extended into the conservatory, it would no longer be exempt and an application for the same size extension would be required.

Charges are not payable for the following

Work solely for the benefit of an individual disabled person living at the domestic premises. Please note, a copy of the approved grant letter provided by Environmental Health or a letter from your Occupational Therapist indicating your disabilities and reason for the work.

General notes

Please indicate on the application form if you wish to pay by debit/credit card and Oxford City Council will contact you on receipt of your application. Or if you wish to pay by BACS please can you follow the instructions on our application forms and e-mail into buildingcontrol@oxford.gov.uk to confirm when payment has been made.

If your work falls under more than one table, each charge is payable on submission.

Estimated cost of work means an estimate, accepted by the Local Authority, of a reasonable amount that would be charged by a person in business to carry out such work. A reduction cannot be allowed for DIY work. Estimates should exclude VAT, land acquisition costs, internal decoration, floor covering and fittings (If not shown on the plans) and professional charges paid to Architects, Engineers or Surveyors.

Where applications have not been inspected for 3 years or information not provided for 3 years the Council will charge a supplementary/reactivation fee to recover the additional costs in dealing with these applications.

The hourly rate which has been used for the calculation of the charges is £120.00 including VAT per hour and will be recharged to the applicant.

The above Building Control fees 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 fee tables. If they are not, the work may incur supplementary charges.

Should any fees not fall into the standard fee categories or if you have any difficulties calculating fees, please do not hesitate to contact us to obtain a competitive fee quotation.