F E E S
B U D G E T F O R T H E P R O J E C T
Construction cost and overall budget for the project are not the same. The overall budget will include all professional and legal fees and expenses, the statutory charges for application for planning consent and building warrants, a contingency sum for unforeseen events and other costs such as furniture, equipment, land acquisitions, finance charges and VAT, in addition to construction costs. Please refer to 'work stages' for an approximate % breakdown for various stages of work and refer to the final section below which is an RIAS (Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland) publication of Indicative fee scales in relation to project complexity and total contract value in terms of a percentage.
F E E O P T I O N S A V A I L A B L E :
Architects' fees can be calculated in three ways: a percentage basis; lump sum basis; or time charge by agreement. Expenses may be included in the agreed fee or charged separately.
1. P E R C E N T A G E B A S I S
In this method, an architects' fees are expressed as a percentage of the total construction costs, i.e. the cost as certified by the architect of the works including site works, executed under a building contract. Before fees can be estimated, client and architect need to establish the services to be provided, the approximate construction budget and the nature of the work.
2. L U M P S U M B A S I S
Lump sums are best be used where the scope of the work can be clearly defined from the outset. It is important to define the parameters of the services - i.e. time, project size and cost- where applicable, so that if these are varied more than the agreed amount, the lump sum itself may be varied.
3. T I M E C H A R G E B A S I S
This basis is best used where the scope of work cannot be be reasonably foreseen or where services cannot be related to the amount of construction. It may be wise to set an upper limit of fees to be incurred, perhaps on a stage basis. Records of time spent on services will be made available to clients on reasonable request.
RIAS Publication of Indicative Architect's Fee Scales
Ref: RIAS publication
