01 · YOUR HOME ARCHITECTS
Residential architects in the City of London.
Fixed fees, clear process.
Design, planning, building regulations and the contract on site, from a RIBA Chartered practice. Every service priced before you commit.
PLANNING AUTHORITY
City of London Corporation
02 · THE PRACTICE
Design to completion, from a RIBA Chartered practice.
Your Home Architects is a service offered by Vision and Design, RIBA Chartered architects based in London. We set it up so London homeowners can see the whole job in advance, with the price for each service agreed before that service begins.
Architects Registration Board
Architect is a title protected by law in the United Kingdom. Only someone on the ARB register may use it. Registration requires seven years of education and examination, is renewed annually, and can be removed for professional misconduct.
ARB REGISTERED ARCHITECTS
RIBA Chartered practice
Registration is held by the practice, not just an individual. It requires a registered architect in charge, professional indemnity cover, a written complaints procedure and continuing professional development.
VISION + DESIGN LTD
Why the title matters to you
An architectural technologist or designer may be excellent, but is not accountable to a regulator. V+D are Chartered Architects, giving you a complaints route, a disciplinary body and mandatory professional indemnity cover.
COVER DETAILS ON REQUEST
03 · THE SERVICE
How we help homeowners in
City of London
Fixed-fee architectural services for London homeowners, in the City of London and every other borough, from a RIBA Chartered practice. The City has very few homes and almost all of them are flats in listed estates, the Barbican above all. That makes the work internal and the approvals particular: consent for altering a listed building rather than permission to extend. We establish exactly what your building allows first, then price each stage before it starts.
Our work here is internal: reordering flats within listed estates, and preparing the surveys, drawings and heritage reports that consent applications are judged on. Each stage priced before it begins.
04 · PUBLISHED FEES
Fixed fee, stage by stage.
Start with a free report. Instruct the next service only when you want to. Priced on how constrained the site is, not on how ambitious you are.
Straightforward work, straightforward pricing
01 · PLANS
Simple plans from only £1,450
• Permitted development only
• Plans and certificate application
• One design revision included
View full fees
02 · PLANS + REGS
Plans + building regulations from £2,950
• Everything in Simple plans
• Building regulations application
• Builder-ready technical drawings
View full fees
Not sure whether your project needs planning permission? The free report answers that first, at no cost.
Everything else, priced by band
BAND A
Unrestricted property · from £2,500
• Householder Application
• No listing or conservation designation
• From £2,500 for design and planning
View band fees
BAND B · MOST COMMON
Constrained property · from £4,000
• Conservation area
• More detailed planning coordination
• From £4,000 for design and planning
View band fees
BAND C
Complex property · from £5,500
• Listed, complex, or highly constrained
• Specialist consent and coordination
• From £5,500 for design and planning
View band fees
A short conversation about your house fixes the figure for each stage before anything starts.
*Every service is separately instructed and separately priced. Most projects begin with the free report.
**Structural engineers, party wall surveyors, Building Control and builders are appointed directly by you and are not included.
05 · START WITH YOUR ADDRESS
A free property report for London homeowners.
Enter your address and we will tell you whether your home is listed, sits in a conservation area or falls under an Article 4 direction, what you are allowed to build without planning permission, and what your neighbours have already been allowed to build.
Free · Within 48 hours · No obligation
What your report covers
• Listed status, conservation area and Article 4 direction
• What you can build without planning permission, specific to your house
• Your likely planning route
• Existing footprint, plot outline and planning history
• Flood zone, tree preservation orders and decided applications nearby
Download a sample report.
See the address check before you ask us to prepare one for your home.
06 · YOUR ADDRESS, NOT THE AVERAGE
What we check before anything is drawn.
IS YOUR STREET PROTECTED?
Around 27 conservation areas giving near total coverage, including the Barbican and Golden Lane area designated in 2018, Smithfield, Fleet Street and the Temples.
WHAT EXTRA RULES APPLY HERE?
Conservation area rules apply across almost the whole City, and near total listing coverage removes most automatic rights in any case. A separate rule prevents offices being converted to homes on the residential estates.
WHAT KIND OF HOUSE IS IT?
A very small residential population, almost entirely flats within the listed Barbican and Golden Lane estates, the Middlesex Street and Mansell Street estates and the Temples. There are essentially no houses.
WHAT PEOPLE USUALLY BUILD HERE
Internal alterations and refurbishments within listed estates. Rear and loft extensions are effectively not applicable to the housing stock here.
ANYTHING ELSE THAT AFFECTS YOUR SITE
The Barbican Estate has its own published management guidelines governing alterations. The Thames Policy Area applies at the river frontage. Reference: Local Plan 2015, being replaced by the City Plan 2040, currently at examination.
07 · CHECK IT YOURSELF
Estimate your London extension cost.
Estimate your full project cost — build, interior fit-out, regulatory and professional fees, contingency and VAT — calibrated for Inner and Outer London.
London extension cost calculator
Open calculator
08 · COMMON QUESTIONS
Can I extend my home in the City of London?
Extending is rarely the question here. Almost every home in the City is a flat within a listed estate, so the work is internal and needs listed building consent rather than planning permission. The two are separate approvals.
I live in the Barbican. What can I change?
Internally, more than you might expect, but the estate is listed and the council publishes detailed guidelines on what may be altered. Kitchens, bathrooms and layouts are possible with consent. Windows, external finishes and anything visible are tightly controlled.
What guidance covers the Barbican?
The council publishes specific guidelines for the Barbican Estate covering what may be altered and how. They are detailed and the conservation team applies them closely, which makes them the first document to read before planning any work.
07 · CONSULTATION
Book a consultation.
Thirty minutes with a registered architect. Free, and nothing is committed.