You have a genuine choice of building control body, and most London homeowners never realise it. The council is not the only option: registered building control approvers carry out the same statutory function, and the right choice depends on programme more than on price.
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Two routes, both statutory. The local authority building control team operates under the council’s own duty to enforce the Building Regulations. Alongside them, registered building control approvers — the private sector route, formerly called approved inspectors — carry out the same function under registration with the Building Safety Regulator.
The private route works by initial notice. The approver serves notice on the council jointly with you, and once the council accepts it, responsibility for plan checking and inspection transfers from the authority to the approver. If the approver later cancels the notice — because the work has stalled or compliance cannot be achieved — responsibility reverts to the council, which is a genuine risk worth understanding before you appoint.
Both routes issue the document that matters at sale. The council issues a completion certificate; the approver issues a final certificate. A buyer’s solicitor will accept either, and will accept neither if inspections were missed at the stages where work is covered up.
| Local authority | Registered approver | |
|---|---|---|
| Typical London charge | £750–£1,400 | £700–£1,500 |
| How it starts | Full Plans or Building Notice | Initial notice served jointly |
| Plan check | Determined within 5 weeks | Usually quicker, commercially driven |
| Inspection booking | Fixed slots, can be a week out | Often next-day availability |
| Enforcement powers | Held by the council | Reverts to council on cancellation |
| Final document | Completion certificate | Final certificate |
Cost is rarely the deciding factor — the two are broadly comparable on domestic work. Programme usually is. A registered approver competing for your business will normally book inspections faster and turn a plan check around quicker, which on a project where the builder is standing waiting is worth more than a hundred pounds of fee difference.
The council route has its own advantages. The team knows the local housing stock, holds the historic records for the address, and is the body you would deal with on any enforcement issue anyway. On a complicated conversion or a property with a messy compliance history, that continuity is worth having.
The same thing, and this is the part that does not change with the choice of body. A Full Plans submission or an initial notice both need a technical set that lets a checker verify compliance without asking a question for every element.
We produce that set for £840 as part of the Essentials package where planning permission already exists, or £1,750 in the Complete package covering planning and building regulations from one survey, and we respond to plan-check comments from either body at no extra charge.
The private sector alternative to local authority building control, formerly called an approved inspector. They carry out the same statutory function under registration with the Building Safety Regulator, starting with an initial notice served jointly with you on the council.
Not usually — the two are broadly comparable on domestic work in London, roughly £700 to £1,500 against £750 to £1,400. The private route generally wins on programme rather than price, with faster plan checks and easier inspection booking.
Responsibility reverts to the local authority, which then has to satisfy itself about work it has not inspected. It is the main risk of the private route and usually arises where a project stalls for a long period or compliance cannot be achieved as designed.
Either a completion certificate from the council or a final certificate from the approver — both are accepted. Neither will be issued if inspections were missed at the stages where work is later covered up, such as foundations, structure and insulation before plasterboard.
No. Both routes need the same technical set: construction sections with U-values, structural layouts matching the engineer's calculations, foundation and drainage detail, the fire strategy and a compliance schedule against each Approved Document.
We produce the drawings and recommend the control route that suits your programme. Fixed fee, same working day.
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